Staff Report
Published Oct. 10, 2012

The National Science Foundation awarded three Clemson University professors $797,066 to investigate how the use of mobile technology can improve coordination in perioperative services.

Perioperative services refers to the care given before, during and after surgery.

The researchers will use artificial intelligence and data analytics to improve coordination in perioperative services at Greenville Memorial Hospital, Palmetto Health Richland in Columbia and the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston.

The team will share research findings with Health Sciences South Carolina and the S.C. Hospital Association. Their work also will be used in health care-training simulations to improve coordination among staff.

The collaboration will provide expertise in operations research, data mining, computer science, simulation, human-computer interaction, and quality and process management.

The Clemson investigation team includes principal investigator Kevin Taaffe and co-investigator Joel Greenstein, both professors in the industrial engineering department, and co-investigator Larry Fredendall, a professor of management in the College of Business and Behavioral Science.

“As a nation, we must find ways to reduce health care costs without sacrificing quality of care,” Taaffe said in a news release. “There are many interrelated services medical staff provide, and our role as researchers is to present options in real-time to these care providers.”

The Clemson researchers are part of a statewide team that includes two faculty members at the University of South Carolina. The total National Science Foundation award for the two universities is $1.4 million.

As part of the research, a “smart app” will be developed to assist data gathering to create an artificial intelligence that runs mobile applications in hospitals.

“The smart app cannot distract staff from their focus on patient care,” Greenstein said in a news release. “The information we display must be easy to understand and act upon.”

The project proposes to create a framework using a combination of mobile technology, learning systems, data analytics, education and training to enhance cooperation and coordination between staff within and across perioperative departments.

The smart app and simulation model will provide the team with tools that can be used in classrooms to teach students information and workflow management techniques across a variety of fields, including business, engineering, science and health care.