Dayton Engineer

By Tayte Miller, marketing communications intern

Growing up, senior engineering student Henry Doheny witnessed his mom work as a nurse on a hospital answer-line where she would consult with patients over the phone. Fast forward many years and Doheny has spent the last several months researching telehealth to improve that same type of healthcare provider-patient interaction, but this time with video screens and more advanced diagnostic tools.

When Doheny began thinking about his senior capstone project, he turned to fellow students Riley Zelczak and Liz Alexander, who had begun researching telemetry solutions through a new clinical internship program established between Dr. Amy Neidhard-Doll, associate professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Dayton, and Alex Pohlman, director of the Telehealth Program at Premier Health. Doheny was inspired by the potential to help more people access healthcare with this technology and joined the team.

From there, the students looked for ways to improve how doctors and patients communicate remotely. In addition to improvements to the video conference interface that physicians use, the team updated virtual patient care software and incorporated digital diagnostic instruments such as an electronic stethoscope and otoscope, as well as additional image enhancements through optical filters.

With these improvements, Premier Health can better use telehealth technology to bring medical expertise and care to patients quickly and conveniently throughout the region. Patients can be seen remotely and receive immediate evaluation from a field specialist when it otherwise might be inaccessible. The use of telehealth technology is especially important during a pandemic, when social distancing and quarantine prevent in-person medical diagnosis and treatment.

“Being able to stay home to keep from spreading diseases is more important now than ever,” said Zelczak, referencing the current COVID-19 pandemic. “Another major benefit I saw while working with Premier was the ability to consult with healthcare experts at different locations without risking transporting a patient.”

There is no doubt this is just the beginning of the benefits created by incorporating cross-functional teams when creating solutions. By combining the minds of various disciplines of engineering with the healthcare professionals at Premier Health, real solutions were created for prominent problems while supporting Premier Health’s mission of providing the highest quality patient care.

“The goal of all of this is to provide patients with the best possible treatment by connecting them with the right doctors per their ailment,” said Doheny. “I learned a lot about the importance of understanding a client’s field of work and the subsequent requirements for products they use. Now, after researching all the new technology in the field, I can picture myself in a role designing medical devices.”

While Doheny can now see himself working with medical devices, Zelczak has since graduated and accepted a job with Cisco Systems, a worldwide leader in IT, networking and cybersecurity solutions. Cisco Systems plays a large underlying role in telehealth – the computer network must be able to support the system. If the hospital does not have a secure network that can support video conferencing between patients and doctors, telehealth would fail.

“The newly established partnership with Premier Health’s telehealth program has offered our electrical and computer engineering students an exciting opportunity in experiential learning and a new pathway to explore a possible career in the healthcare field,” said Neidhard-Doll.

Experiential learning provides students with experiences that cannot be learned from a textbook, as well as opens the door to career paths they might otherwise not discover. Throughout the course of the project, the students were given the opportunity to tour hospital facilities and receive education, guidance and feedback from healthcare professionals about their designs.

“Premier Health’s telehealth program continues to grow, expanding access to our medical experts,” said Alex Pohlman, director of telehealth for Premier Health. “We are excited to be working with UD’s School of Engineering to look for ways to further the capabilities of our telehealth program. The research and technological developments made by these talented students will further support our mission of providing the highest quality patient care.”

Through the partnership with UD students, Premier Health is now upgrading 20 mobile telehealth carts across the health system, enhancing care delivery in areas such as wound care, neurology, neonatology and emergency services.

Students who are interested in participating in the Telehealth Clinical Internship Program at UD can contact Dr. Amy Neidhard-Doll at aneidharddoll1@udayton.edu for more information.