New partnership aims to provide high-tech healthcare learning opportunities for pediatric patients

A new partnership between The University of Texas at Arlington Libraries and Cook Children's Medical Center in Fort Worth will mean new high-tech healthcare learning opportunities for pediatric patients.

Thanks to an Emerging Technology Award from the National Network of Libraries of Medicine South Central Region, UTA Libraries will be able to help children and their families explore health conditions and treatments using 3-D printers, 3-D scanners and microelectronics.

The effort combines the University's emphasis on health and the human condition with technologies in the UT Arlington FabLab and the library's long-standing focus on providing literacy information opportunities to K-12 students.

"Since it started, the UTA FabLab has given students access to emerging technologies like 3-D printers and scanners, laser cutters and virtual reality systems," UT Arlington Dean of Libraries Rebecca Bichel said.

"Because of the grant, we are now able to share these tools with a wider audience and show families how these technologies can make a difference in their lives."

Beginning this fall, UTA Libraries' personnel will bring a mobile version of the FabLab to patients at Cook's day camps and support groups.

Planned activities include having children create an electronic heartbeat sensor to monitor their heart rate, translate the brain's electrical impulses to the movement of a mouse pointer and print 3-D models of DNA strands or organs to help illustrate their condition.

Jill Coss, director of family support services at Cook's, is eager to see what else can be done with the technology and feels that the partnership with UTA Libraries is opening a door to new possibilities.

"We want to explore 3-D options for bereavement support and diagnosis," Coss said. "I'm excited about seeing it firsthand."

For Peace Ossom Williamson, UT Arlington health sciences librarian and interim FabLab co-manager, the goal is to empower children and their caregivers in making health decisions and developing long-term involvement in their own care.

"We also want to give them a positive experience in the hospital and show them what resources are available in the management of their condition," Williamson said.