Simulator-Based Curriculum for Teaching Interventional Radiology
Grant Application
Paula Novelli, MD, UPMC Presbyterian
Proposed Innovation
Interventional radiology plays an essential role in the management of life-threatening and non-urgent medical conditions. Interventional radiologists use images to guide tiny instruments — small needles, narrow tubes, and catheters — inside the body to precisely target treatment with the least invasive techniques possible.
The goal of this project is to enhance training of interventional radiologists through the use of a state-of-the-art simulator housed at the Winter Institute for Simulation, Education, and Research (WISER), part of The Wolff Center at UPMC.
Improvements in Action
Through this innovative project, a Mentice VIST® G5 Simulator will be purchased to provide clinicians and medical professionals with hands-on training in interventional radiology procedures. Modules will provide training scenarios for a variety of conditions, including treatment of uterine fibroids, traumatic vascular injury, and malignant liver tumors. Training will focus on challenging the learner’s technical skills, clinical decision-making abilities, and procedural proficiency.
Intended Outcomes
Having a simulator-based curriculum for teaching interventional radiology procedures will allow trainees to gain experience and confidence in catheter-directed minimally invasive procedures in a safe and controllable learning environment. It is expected to enhance their learning curve while lessening the risk of patient injury due to inexperience.
- Frontline Innovations 2023-2024
- Advanced Echocardiography Outreach and Training Program
- Assistive Technology Access Across UPMC
- English for the Future: A Launch Pad Toward an International Health Care Career
- Finding Fomites: Pathogenic Bacteria Transmission Risk from Long-Sleeved Health Care Worker Attire at UPMC PUH/SHY
- Introduction of Point-of-Care Ultrasound for Vascular Access in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
- UPMC Critical Care Medicine Practice Provider Transition to Practice Program
- Utilizing Intraoral Camera as a Diagnostic Tool in Two Settings
- Wellness Integrative Screening and Health (WISH) Initiative Gynecological Medical Mobile Unit
- Frontline Innovations 2022-2023
- Comprehensive Adult Extracorporeal Life Support (ECLS) Education Program
- Comprehensive Ostomy Patient Empowerment (COPE) Program
- Exploring SEM Technology to Detect Early Signs of Pressure Injury in Patients with Dark Skin
- High-Fidelity Epicardial Pacing Simulation
- Lactation Room Redesign
- Mitigating IVH with Neuroprotective Bundle and Developmental Care (MIND)
- Postpartum Hemorrhage Rapid Response Unit
- Protecting Preemie Brains
- The Purple Butterfly Initiative
- UPMC Giant Cell Arteritis Fast-Track Pathway
- Virtual Discharge Technology Expansion
- Frontline Innovations 2021-2022
- Accessing the Right Tools: Improving Medication Adherence in the Pediatric Kidney Transplant Population
- Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training
- Colors of the World
- Developing an Affirming Provider Clinic Designation for LGBTQ+ Primary Care at UPMC
- Development and Validation of a High-Fidelity, Cost-Effective, and Modular Lung Transplant Surgical Anastomosis Simulator
- Digital Health Navigator to Support Telehealth After-Hospital Video Visits and Home Monitoring
- Implementing High-Intensity Gait Training Across the Continuum of Care for Adults Receiving Physical Therapy Post Stroke
- Improving Communication Practice in the Pediatric ICU
- New Graduate Nurse Skills Lab
- Preventing Abuse, One Visit at a Time
- School-Based Telehealth Pilot Program to Promote Student Health Through Access to Timely and Convenient Pediatric Care
- The Type 1 Diabetes Wraparound Program (T1DWP)
- Vasculab for Wound Center
- VidaTalk App to Promote the Patient Experience and Improve Communication
- Frontline Innovations 2019-2020
- Academic Detailing to Support Deprescribing Within Nursing Homes
- The “Comfort Ability” for Children and Adolescents Who Suffer From Chronic Migraine or Headache
- Critical Update of Educational App for Heart Failure Patients
- Enhanced Care Coordination for Head and Neck Cancer Survivors
- Enhancing Prenatal Care Through MyUPMC Video Visits
- Gone Fishing Phase 2: The Expansion
- Haptic Technology to Modify Biomechanical/Ergonomic Behavior
- Phone-Based Intervention for Suicidal Transitional-Age Adults (PISTA)
- Pioneering a Language Access Program in Outpatient Clinics for English Learners at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh
- Power of the Pulpit
- Reducing Hospital Readmission and Mortality Rates Through Family Hospice and UPMC Emergency Departments
- Ruptured Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Systemwide Protocol
- Upping the Game: Improving an Educational Tool for Children With Asthma
- WPH Southside Mindfulness Garden Expansion Project
- Frontline Innovations 2018-2019
- Clinical-based Surveillance for Multidrug Resistant Organisms
- Creating Inclusive Hospitals with the Healthcare Equality Index
- Distribution of Take-Home Naloxone Kits
- Faith-Based Organization’s Call to Action
- Fitness and Movement
- Gynecologic Cancer Caregiver Support Initiative
- Managing High-Risk Patients
- NICU Ultraviolet Cell Phone Sanitizer
- Nurse-Driven Delirium Protocol
- Pediatric Tracheostomy Care Simulation
- Photography and Simulation
- Post-Operative Monitoring of Microvascular Free Flap Patients
- Simulator-Based Curriculum for Teaching Interventional Radiology
- Social Needs Action Program (SNAP)
- Frontline Innovations 2017-2018
- Assessing and Improving Health Literacy in Head and Neck Cancer Survivorship
- Breastfeeding Support and Education for Families and Staff of the Heart and Vascular Institute of CHP
- Burn Surgery Simulation Training Program
- Decreasing Unnecessary Emergency Department Visits and Hospitalizations for Hospice Patients
- Don’t Just Do Something, Sit There!
- Gone Fishing
- Hands-On Curriculum using Simulation for Point-of-Care Ultrasound in the Neonatal ICU
- Mobile Case Management and Outreach as Pregnancy Recovery Center Catalyst
- Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome Model of Care
- Nurse-Driven Delirium Prevention and Intervention Project
- Perinatal Loss Funding
- Reducing Stigmas While Caring for the Addicted Patient
- Simulation Training for Open Clipping of Cerebral Aneurysms
- Sustaining and Spreading the Dementia Activities Room
- Three Degrees of Stewardship
- UPMC Shadyside Oncology Emergency Department: Educating the Emergency Department Nurse
- WPIC Southside Mindfulness Garden Project
- Frontline Innovations 2016-2017
- 3D Printing of Patient Specific Models
- Engaging with Families in Group Well Child Care
- Enhance Clinical Care and Outcomes
- Horizontal Surveillance MDRO vs. Current Vertical Surveillance
- ICRIT System
- Neurodevelopmental Care Initiative
- NICU Kangaroo-A-Thon
- Nurse Ambassador Bedside Patient Education
- Palliative Nurse Champion Program
- Perioperative Monitoring of Physical Activity
- Prenatal Education in Native Language
- Thoracic Organ Procurement in Transplantation
- Virtual Reality Immersion
- Frontline Innovations 2015-2016
- Early Mobility in the Pediatric and Cardiac Intensive Care Units
- Enhancing the Patient Experience with the MINDER Application
- ICU Diaries
- Impact of Access to Diabetes Technology on Glycemic Variations
- Implementation and Effectiveness Study of Toolbox Resources
- Implementing Infant-Driven Feeding Practice in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
- Improving Engagement and Shared Decision Making for Patients Receiving rTMS or ECT Treatment
- Lifestyle Medicine
- Nursing and Associated Health Allies Sickle Cell Disease Initiative
- Pediatric Gait Analysis Program (PGAP)
- Perinatal Mood Disorder Care with Telemedicine Component
- Training Residents and Nurses to Communicate Medical Information More Clearly
- Frontline Innovations 2014-2015
- Anatomic Phantom to Improve Radiology Resident Procedural Proficiency
- Customized Oncology Music Library Project
- Endoscopic Processing Safety and Cost Considerations
- Improvement in Trauma Notification and Care Transfer
- Nurse ‘Therapy’: Modular Standardized Education for Quadriplegics (MSEQ)
- Pediatric Baseline Concussion Testing with iPads
- Retail Pharmacy Transitions of Care Optimization
- TeamSTEPPS at UPMC Passavant
- The Pediatric Critical Care Ultrasound Initiative
- Ultrasound Guided Fine Needle Aspiration
- Virtual School Consultation (VSC)
- Frontline Innovations 2013-2014
- Frontline Innovations 2012-2013
- Frontline Innovations 2011-2012
- Clinical Transformation Research Grants 2024-2025
- Liquid Biopsy in Neurosurgery: Building a Platform for Blood Tests to Predict Brain Tumor Behavior and Guide Clinical Management
- Precision Radiotherapy to Cure Breast Cancer
- Psilocybin for a Postsurgical Inpatient Population for Pain, Mood, and Opioid Use Disorder
- Utilizing AI to Investigate the Efficacy of Romosozumab in Boosting Bone Density and Muscle Mass for Improved Spine Surgery Outcomes
- Clinical Transformation Research Grant 2023-2024
- Advancing Endovascular Stroke Intervention with Haptic-Enabled Telerobotics
- Machine Learning-Based Clinical Decision Support (CDS) to Predict Bleeding Risk in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation (AF) on Direct Oral Anticoagulants
- Reliability and Feasibility of Frozen Umbilical Cord Sections for the Identification of Neonatal Early Onset Sepsis
- Unlocking Functional Communication for Patients with Disorders of Consciousness with Innovative Brain Computer Interface Technology
- Clinical Transformation Research Grants 2022-2023
- Developing a Functional Neural Prosthetic for the Blind by Leveraging Artificial Intelligence, Computational Neuroscience, and Computer Vision
- NFT Biobank Platform for an Ethical, Efficient Breast Cancer Organoid Ecosystem
- Radiogenomics of Y90-Treated Colorectal Cancer Liver Metastases
- Randomized Study to Evaluate Strategies to Address Cognitive Fog in Long-COVID Patients
- REMAP REST EEC (Rest Easy: Respiratory Support and Treatment for Efficient and Cost-Effective Care)
- Clinical Transformation Research Grants 2021-2022
- Building Health Equity & Pipeline of Underrepresented Minorities (URMs: An Interdepartmental Approach)
- Fetal Aqueductal Stenosis Ventricular Shunting
- Reverse Bioengineering of Tumor Infiltrating Lymphocyte Metabolism for Adoptive Cell Transfer
- UPMC Randomized, Embedded Multifactorial Adaptive Platform Trial for Perioperative Medicine (UPMC REMAP Periop)
- Clinical Transformations 2021-2022
- Building Health Equity & Pipeline of Underrepresented Minorities (URMs: An Interdepartmental Approach)
- Fetal Aqueductal Stenosis Ventricular Shunting
- Reverse Bioengineering of Tumor Infiltrating Lymphocyte Metabolism for Adoptive Cell Transfer
- UPMC Randomized, Embedded Multifactorial Adaptive Platform Trial for Perioperative Medicine (UPMC REMAP Periop)
- Clinical Transformations 2017-2018
- Building an Infrastructure to Support Shared Decision Making in the UPMC Health System
- Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Cancer Survivors with Cognitive Dysfunction
- Community Checkups: A Pilot Program Bringing Doctors to Patients
- Creation of a Geriatric Trauma Activities Center to Improve the Care Experience for Geriatric Trauma Patients
- Development and Dissemination of an Electronic Health Record Based Child Abuse Clinical Decision Support System Toolkit
- Development of a Comprehensive Care Plan for Children with Special Health Care Needs (CSHCN)
- Mining Electronic Health Record to Identify Patients at Imminent Risk for Suicide
- Predicting Responses to Pain Treatment and Susceptibility to Addiction
- Provision of Naloxone Rescue Kits and Education for All Inpatients Identified as At-Risk for Opioid Overdose
- The Critical Illness Recovery Center at UPMC Mercy
- VISION: Video Integration for Surgical Improvement of Outcomes after Neurosurgery
- Clinical Transformations 2016-2017
- Esophageal Cancer Surgery Education and Support Group
- Treatment of Intravenous Substance Use Disorders
- Medical Advocacy Program (MAP)
- Patient/Family Collaboration in Cystic Fibrosis
- Pediatric Asthma Prevention Strategies
- Prevent Delirium and Improve Care for Patients with Dementia
- Preventing Blindness
- RELATE Curriculum to Improve Physician Communication and Patient Satisfaction
- Promoting Self-Advocacy Among Women with Cancer
- Tobacco Treatment and Reduced Complications for Orthopaedic Patients
- UPMC McKeesport Chronic Pain Institute
- Clinical Transformations 2015-2016
- Adolescent Transition in Transplantation
- Bridging Gaps in Transitional Care
- CADET: CAncer DEcision Support Tool
- Clinicians and Families at Risk of Periviable Delivery
- Decision Aid for Women Considering Elective Hysterectomy
- Doula Supported Group Education for ESL Families
- Evaluation of Hysterectomy Pathways
- “Gender Connections”
- Genetic Cancer Risk Assessment and Patient Perception
- Genetic Cancer Risk Assessment and Patient Perception
- Improving Patient Outcomes
- Let Us Choose Wisely
- Payment Reform Learning Collaborative
- Preoperative Frailty Assessment
- Program to Screen for Retinopathy in Children with Type I Diabetes
- Standardizing the Care of Sibling Blood and Marrow Donors
- Clinical Transformations 2014-2015
- Asthma Care Connection
- Decision Aid for Transplant Candidates
- Reducing Unnecessary Admission in Trauma
- Brief Care Management Bridging Strategy
- Mood and Energy Monitoring of Youth
- PREP Care for Diabetes
- Preparing Family in ICUs to Be Surrogate Decision Maker
- Standardization of Sexual Assault Care at UPMC
- Transplant Passport Mobile Device App
- Using Technology for Elderly TAVR Patients
- Clinical Transformations 2013-2014