Have you ever met the Alton, IL religious Sister who is also a biomedical engineer

Have you ever met - much less even heard of - a religious Sister (i.e. a Nun) who is a biomedical engineer that utilizes virtual reality and 3D-modeling technologies to help surgeons with their preoperative surgical planning?

When divine inspiration and engineering innovation meet, you get Sister M. Pieta Keller, F.S.G.M.

Sister M. Pieta Keller, F.S.G.M., who joined the Alton, IL-based Sisters of St. Francis of the Martyr St. George in 2013, combines the divine inspiration to a calling to enter the religious community and simultaneously utilizes her God-given scientific and technical aptitude. "I truly feel that God has placed me here and led me to choose a field that allows me to pursue my love of engineering, in addition to answering His call to serve Him, combining to positively affect people's lives every day," says Sister M. Pieta.

By background, she is a graduate of Purdue University with a Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering degree. As an innovation engineer, in Peoria with OSF HealthCare Innovation, there are four (4) primary aspects of her role at the OSF Innovation Jump Simulation and Education Center:

• First, she helps surgeons and care teams with surgical planning through unique patient 3D-modeling from CT or MRI images which has impacted at least 50% of the surgical plans presented to her team.
• Secondly, the creation of medical task trainers for surgeons to learn and practice on before they care for patients.
• Prototyping of devices needed for patient care, such as airway masks for infants for whom nothing else is available or 3D-printed parts for specific equipment.
• Finally, teaching of health care engineering STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Math) courses to help students discover their passions, skills, and opportunities to serve others.

Sister M. Pieta Keller will be giving a FREE presentation open to the public providing insights into her biomedical engineering role on Monday, September 23, Noon - 1 p.m. at OSF Saint Anthony's Health Center. During her presentation, Sister M. Pieta will be displaying some of the unique 3D advanced imaging and modeling that OSF HealthCare creates for clinical care, talk about how OSF HealthCare uses personalized medicine for unique patient care, and demonstrating some training and prototyping capabilities.

All attendees will receive lunch. Seating is limited, registration is required and can be completed online by visiting: https://eventbrite.com/e/engineering-patient-success-tickets-1007931729937?aff=oddtdtcreator

Sister M. Pieta's work involves the creation of 3D-models of internal organs and systems as well as utilizing Virtual Reality applications to help surgeons in preoperative planning. A few examples of her work include:

• How she and her team modified a breathing mask to address the severe sleep apnea diagnosis of a 10-week old infant to avoid tracheotomy surgery.
• She and her team created a pelvic trainer for a young woman in her 30s, who was diagnosed with cervical cancer, in the hopes that she could someday still conceive and carry a child.
• She received documented credit as part of a National Institutes of Health published study that addresses the use of virtual reality technology for preoperative planning in complex surgical oncology.
• A new approach to mental health support for students utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) for potentially identifying mental health indicators.

More information on Sister M. Pieta's presentation can be obtained by contacting Trudy Bodenbach, business development specialist, OSF Saint Anthony's Health Center, via email at: [email protected].

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