UNMC and Nebraska Medicine are partnering to launch a Mind and Brain Health Lab.
Dr. Matthew Rizzo is professor and chair of the UNMC Department of Neurological Sciences, and lead physician in the neuroscience service line.
Rizzo says the labs include a large high-fidelity driving simulator. It features a real full-sized automobile and an ultra high definition wrap-around visual display, with better resolution than the human retina.
It’s named SENSEI, which stands for Simulator for Ergonomics, Neuroscience, Safety Engineering and Innovation.
Dr. Rizzo says the simulator will be used for multidisciplinary research studies with collaborators across UNMC and Nebraska Medicine.
"It’s a very sophisticated tool that allows us to immerse people in realistic environments to test how they would drive in the real world and we can relate these behaviors and signals from the body and brain to tell us whether somebody’s failing in driving.”
Rizzo says the simulators and other technologies will allow UNMC and Nebraska Medicine to study the effect on performance and mobility of many neurological, medical and surgical conditions.
They’ll also use the technology to study the effects of sleep deprivation, shift work and medicine.
Information on the labs is available by calling 402-559-6870.