2008 Woodie Awards
SJSU alumnus creates lifesaving device
Mark Aspillera
Issue date: 9/27/07 Section: News
- Page 1 of 2 next >
A new device, called the impedance threshold device, can treat unaddressed medical problems faced by soldiers and NASA astronauts, said a senior research physiologist at the U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research.
Dr. Victor Convertino's presentation Tuesday in the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library, titled "Iraq to Space: Physiological Research and Clinical Applications," tried at humor before getting serious.
"I really had mixed emotions when I drove down San Carlos today and saw a sign saying 'beat UC Davis,'" said Convertino, an SJSU alumnus who graduated with a bachelor's degree in math in 1971 and physical education in 1972. He did his doctorate work in research physiology at UC Davis.
The scattered laughter in the audience of more than twenty kinesiology students faded with the click of a Power Point slide as the research data was presented.
In his presentation, Convertino said that the technology he helped research, the impedance threshold device, is designed to address an acute threat to life that occurs when blood pressure becomes extremely low, decreasing blood flow to the heart and brain.
Matthew Masucci, kinesiology professor and advisor to the kinesiology student club, said that the research into impedance threshold devices is relevant to many kinesiology students.
One student had doubts as to whether the presentation was relevant to him.
"It's not really my area of study," Tony Gianotti, a graduate student in sports management said. "It's the same old tale of having practical application for the research you do."
Another sports management graduate student, Detrick Wright, was more receptive to the technology and research, but found the presentation confusing.
"OK, but at what point do you use the device?" he said, explaining his confusion about how to use the impedance threshold device as part of a ventilation device during CPR.
The statistics on conditions involving decreased blood flow to the heart and brain, presented by Convertino, were grim.
Dr. Victor Convertino's presentation Tuesday in the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library, titled "Iraq to Space: Physiological Research and Clinical Applications," tried at humor before getting serious.
"I really had mixed emotions when I drove down San Carlos today and saw a sign saying 'beat UC Davis,'" said Convertino, an SJSU alumnus who graduated with a bachelor's degree in math in 1971 and physical education in 1972. He did his doctorate work in research physiology at UC Davis.
The scattered laughter in the audience of more than twenty kinesiology students faded with the click of a Power Point slide as the research data was presented.
In his presentation, Convertino said that the technology he helped research, the impedance threshold device, is designed to address an acute threat to life that occurs when blood pressure becomes extremely low, decreasing blood flow to the heart and brain.
Matthew Masucci, kinesiology professor and advisor to the kinesiology student club, said that the research into impedance threshold devices is relevant to many kinesiology students.
One student had doubts as to whether the presentation was relevant to him.
"It's not really my area of study," Tony Gianotti, a graduate student in sports management said. "It's the same old tale of having practical application for the research you do."
Another sports management graduate student, Detrick Wright, was more receptive to the technology and research, but found the presentation confusing.
"OK, but at what point do you use the device?" he said, explaining his confusion about how to use the impedance threshold device as part of a ventilation device during CPR.
The statistics on conditions involving decreased blood flow to the heart and brain, presented by Convertino, were grim.
Be the first to comment on this story