LVH Promotes Robotic Surgery With Special Events

Special to Salisbury Patch By Chrissy Cilento, Emmaus High School Junior

The good old-fashioned spirit of competition inspired more than 100 people to line up and compete last Saturday in 's (LVHN) first-ever Simulation Olympics qualifying event at the Agri-Plex in Allentown. The competitors used a simulator known as the dv Trainer from Mimic, like the ones used to train robotic surgeons at the hospital, to complete a challenge and receive a score.

The event wasn’t just for future Olympians, though. There were dozens of science experiments and science clubs present at the Agri-Plex for people to check out. Even small kids were expressing desires to one day grow up and be robotic surgeons!

The Simulation Olympics are part of LVHN’s 12 Days of Robotics, which was developed in part to promote its Robotic Surgery Team’s impressive work as well as to make sure that the network really lives up to its standard of having a “Passion for Better Medicine.” 

From the looks of it, 12 Days has already helped spread the word about Lehigh Valley Hospital’s robotics program and has certainly gotten people from our community involved, but the fun isn’t over quite yet! There’s another qualifying round for the Simulation Olympics coming up this Tuesday from noon to 7 p.m. at Kome at the Promenade Shops. The top 16 scorers from these two qualifiers will become the finalists, competing on April 25 to win eternal glory. And the new iPad.  

Just like this past event at the Agri-Plex there’s going to be much more to do than play on a simulator! will be hosting a from the Lehigh Valley Hospital to compete with chefs to see whose sushi gets voted the best! To reserve your seats at Kome, call 610-798-9888 for a seating at either 5 p.m. or 7:15 p.m. I’ll be there too, behind the mic emceeing with Dr. Martin Martino, a robotic surgeon and gynecologic oncologist at Lehigh Valley Hospital! 

' will also be joining in on the spirit! From April 24 through 26, when you buy merchandise under the code 10734598, Barnes and Noble will donate a portion of your bill to LVHN’s Gynecologic Cancers, Research and Robotics Fund. 

If you can’t attend on Tuesday but don’t want to miss out on the experience, you can check out the live uStream camera that will be running for the entire night on Simulation Olympics website: www.simulationolympics.com.  

Whether the adrenaline of competition is your thing or you’d rather curl up in a corner with a book and a plate of sushi, I’d suggest you head over to the Promenade Shops this Tuesday. There will be tons of opportunities for great company, great food, and spectacular learning opportunities, as well as plenty of chances to give back to our community by supporting the Lehigh Valley Health Network.  

For more information, check out www.simulationolympics.com or the official Facebook page at www.facebook.com/simulationolympics.

Chrissy Cilento, a junior at , plans to study journalism in college. She is a periodic contributor to Patch.