Professor Carla Pugh is a newly established advisor to the Precision OS team. In her role, Dr. Pugh will offer over 20 years of experience in higher-level education, medical training, and surgical skills to guide the future direction and the integration of advanced technology within the immersive learning platform developed by PrecisionOS.
It is a huge honor to join the PrecisionOS team and partner on the development and implementation of the next generation in VR training and assessment. The future of surgical mastery lies in data visualization and information exchange and PrecisionOS is well-positioned to lead in this endeavor,” said Dr. Pugh.
Through both her undergraduate studies at the University of California, Berkeley in Neurobiology, as well as her medical degree at Howard University School of Medicine, Dr. Pugh’s comprehensive skills in the clinical area of acute care surgery will prove to be an invaluable asset to the team. In conjunction with her pedagogical insights as the first surgeon to obtain a Ph.D. in Education from Stanford University, Dr. Pugh will work to incorporate her extensive research toward the overarching uses of simulation and engineering technologies within PrecisionOS’ platform. This will allow her to develop new approaches for assessing and defining skills within clinical procedures and tactile integration.
“She’s a world expert on the use of sensors for performance,” said Dr. Danny Goel, an orthopedic surgeon in Vancouver, B.C. and Chief Executive Officer of PrecisionOS. “Her research is a prime example of how simulation can be used to generate medical metrics for testing the surgical skill performance, similar to Precision. Pugh’s work and experience draw from multiple disciplines, bridging the study of education and learning science into the field of medicine. We could not be any more excited to have her join the team.”
Dr. Pugh has played a critical role in being granted three patents toward the use of sensor and data acquisition technology and has worked to redefine the measurement and characterization of hands-on clinical skills. Currently, more than 200 medical and nursing schools use one of Dr. Pugh’s sensor-enabled training tools for their students and trainees. Dr. Pugh has also received numerous awards from both medical and engineering organizations for her ongoing contributions across the industry. Her recognitions include the prestigious Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers from former President of the United States, Barack Obama.
In 2014, Dr. Pugh was invited to present a TEDMED talk on the potential uses of sensor and motion tracking technology, an area she is often regarded as a leading international expert. More recently in 2018, Dr. Pugh was selected to be honorably inducted into the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering.
“As both the professor of surgery at Stanford’s School of Medicine and the Director of Technology Enabled Clinical Improvement (T.E.C.I.) Centre, Dr. Pugh’s focus has been on changing the landscape of hands-on surgical training,” Dr. Goel said. “She saw there was a gap within the clinical setting and provided adaptability for herself and her students. The safety and efficiency of care is dependent on the incorporation of technology. PrecisionOS welcomes the opportunity to learn from a thoughtful and resourceful leader such as Dr. Pugh.”