UC Learning Lab inspires College of Medicine to SIT

The initiative, spearheaded by the UC Learning Lab, which included the Systematic Inventive Thinking (SIT) approach, served as a dynamic platform for students and faculty from diverse backgrounds to combine their expertise, unleashing an abundance of perspectives and problem-solving approaches.

The topic of discussion was the Pulse Oximeter (PulseOx), a noninvasive medical device that attaches to a body part to measure the oxygen saturation levels of individuals. Widely used and convenient, this medical test has raised some concerns among health care professionals, including cost, sustainability and accuracy.

During the Learning Lab session, Sargent employed SIT, a methodology designed to encourage individuals to break free from conventional thinking patterns to generate innovative ideas on the spot.

SIT provides a framework and a set of techniques to stimulate creative thinking and problem-solving. The SIT method is based on the premise that innovation can be achieved by applying patterns and templates to existing products, services or processes to create new and novel ideas.

Faculty from the Department of Emergency Medicine were present. They answered questions and heard from the various academic colleges who brainstormed ideas related to the medical device.

The UC Learning Lab was the guiding force behind this collective endeavor, skillfully orchestrating the creative process, navigating the exchange of thoughts and fostering an environment where the unification of skilled disciplines paved the way for innovative solutions and insights.

Enthusiastic participants like Erin Seccia, a communication design student and UC NEXT Innovation Scholar, wholeheartedly embraced the multidisciplinary approach to the challenge.

“Working with health care professionals who brought extensive knowledge and insights to the project greatly enriched our ideas and problem-solving process. My relatively limited health care expertise allowed me to approach the problem with a more abstract perspective, which, while not always guaranteed to work, sparked potential innovative solutions,” Seccia said.

Rakesh Govind, PhD in biochemistry and professor of chemical and environmental engineering, spoke to the diverse backgrounds of participants from multiple colleges and how it allowed everyone to interact and generate new ideas on the PulseOx system. Govind shared how he would like to see the medical school researchers continue to collaborate with faculty from engineering, to improve the medical device.

“We filled a room with bright, energetic folks — all of whom had zero mandate to be there — a delicious mix of intellectual curiosity and the pursuit of intellectual expansion that brought us together,” Pancioli said.

During the ideation session, the Learning Lab effectively harnessed the collective creativity of a unique group, introducing participants to SIT tactics and enabling them to uncover novel approaches to creative thinking.

Featured image at top: Arthur Pancioli, MD, chair of the UC Department of Emergency Medicine speaks during an ideation session at the 1819 Innovation Hub. Photo/Aidan Wallace

Contributing writer: UC student, Next Innovation Scholar, Max Kemats