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Universidade Nacional da Irlanda em Galway -- Ciência sem Fronteiras
PhD Project Template
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Use one form per project
Please complete & submit to international@nuigalway.ie as soon as possible, and by 27/11/2012
In your email, begin the subject line with [SWB] (be sure to use square brackets) to ensure that
your email is filed correctly. Emails will be automatically filed
PI name & contact details:
Dr Wil. van der Putten, Department of Medical Physics and
Bioengineering, University Hospital Galway
Enda Fallon School of Engineering and Informatics, NUI
Galway
Dr Paul O’Connor School of Medicine, NUI Galway
School:
Physics
Engineering and Informatics
Medicine
Has project been agreed with head (or
nominee) of proposed registration school?
Research Centre / group affiliation:
Yes
Irish Centre for Patient Safety
Research group / centre website:
http://www.nuigalway.ie/patientsafety/
PI website / link to CV:
http://www.nuigalway.ie/our-research/people/business-andeconomics/pauloconnor/
http://www.nuigalway.ie/our-research/people/engineeringand-informatics/endafallon/
Brief summary of PI research / research group / centre activity (2 or 3 lines max):
It has been estimated that medical error affects approximately 10% of hospitalized patients. The
report of the Irish Commission on Patient Safety and Quality identified a need for an active research
programme on patient safety and quality issues in healthcare for Ireland. The recently formed Irish
Centre for Patient Safety at NUI Galway has been established to meet this need. The Centre is
interdisciplinary and draws upon expertise from the Medical School, Engineering, Medical Physics,
The Institute for Business, Social Sciences, and Public Policy, and Galway University Hospitals. To
date, the research has been focused on three specific domains of healthcare.
 Radiology: Research is concerned with how users (usually staff working with computers and
hi-spec machines) interact with automated systems. This work has been funded by the
Health Research Board.
 Surgery: Research in surgery has examined attitudes to team working and communication,
and the use of a checklist designed to prevent wrong site surgeries. A number of specific
surgical procedures are also being examined from a human factors perspective.
 Interns: Internship is the first postgraduate year of training for doctors. The research in this
domain has taken an evidence-based approach to identifying specific areas in which interns
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Universidade Nacional da Irlanda em Galway -- Ciência sem Fronteiras
have difficulty (e.g. practical skills such as assertiveness and ordering tests correctly), and
the design and evaluation of interventions to improve future performance.
Title & brief description of PhD project (suitable for publication on web):
An analysis of the Design and Development of Alarms and Alerts in High Dependency and
Intensive Care Units.
Alarms in technology intensive healthcare systems have been rated in the top three hazards in
healthcare. Consequently, their management is critical to its safe delivery. There are a number of
unique factors which contribute to the difficulties in this area including; proliferation of different
types and models of equipment, non-uniform implementation across specialisms, and limited
availability of alarm logic processing systems. This project will be concerned with the development
of a process which can be used to implement alarms and alerts in High Dependency and Intensive
Care Units. The emphasis will be on the development and implementation of alarm logic and
decision support systems which will provide guidance to clinicians and Bio-engineering staff with
regard to the implementation and use of warnings, alarms and alerts in complex computer-based
medical technologies.
Unique selling points of PhD project in NUI Galway:
A PhD in Patient Safety in NUI Galway is a unique experience as the University and Teaching Hospital
are literally side by side and there is a close interaction between the academic and clinical work. The
research is ideal for students who are interested in developing a career in patient safety and risk in
healthcare or alternatively see themselves playing a key role in the design of computer-based
medical technologies.
Name & contact details for project queries, if different from PI named above:
Please indicate the graduates of which disciplines that should apply:
Software Engineering, Physics, Biomedical Engineering, Electronic Engineering, Industrial
Engineering, Human Factors Engineering
Ciência sem Fronteiras / Science Without Borders Priority Area:
Please indicate the specific programme priority area under which the proposed PhD project fits- choose only
one (tick box):
Engineering and other technological areas
X
Pure and Natural Sciences (e.g. mathematics, physics, chemistry)/Physical Sciences (Mathematics,
Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Geosciences)
Health and Biomedical Sciences / Clinical, Pré-clinical and Health Sciences
Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), Computing
Aerospace
Pharmaceuticals
Sustainable Agricultural Production
Oil, Gas and Coal
Renewable Energy
Minerals, Minerals Technology
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Biotechnology
Nanotechnology and New Materials
Technologies for Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Disasters
Bioprospecting and Biodiversity
Marine Sciences
Creative Industry
New technologies in constructive engineering
Please indicate which of the following applies to this project (referring to Science Without Borders
arrangements):
Suitable only as a Full PhD (Y/N): _ _N__
Available to candidates seeking a Sandwich PhD arrangement (Y/N): ___Y__
Suitable for either: YES