Department of Anesthesiology

Faculty Office Building 119
P.O. Box 245114
Tucson, AZ 85724-5114

Phone: 626-9106

E-mail: rloeb@u.arizona.edu

EDUCATION:

University of Maryland, 1983 (M.D.)
University of Maryland Medical Center, 1984 (Internship, Family Medicine)
University of Virginia, 1986, (Residency Anesthesiology)

University of Utah, 1987, (Fellowship, Bioengineering Research)

MAJOR AREAS OF RESEARCH INTEREST:

Dr. Loeb's research has focused on anesthesia instrumentation, specifically on the user interface. He has adapted classical human factors methodology to study operating room ergonomics. To date, his most notable contribution has been a series of studies of anesthesia vigilance during real surgical cases. Dr. Loeb has been funded twice by the Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation. He is currently working on a cognitive engineering analysis of ventilation-related critical events. The analysis provides a foundation for the development of new formats for instrument displays.

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS:

Singh S. Loeb RG. Fatal connection: death caused by direct connection of oxygen tubing into a tracheal tube connector. Anesthesia & Analgesia. 99(4):1164-5, 2004.

Syroid ND. Agutter J. Drews FA. Westenskow DR. Albert RW. Bermudez JC. Strayer DL. Prenzel H. Loeb RG. Weinger MB. Development and evaluation of a graphical anesthesia drug display. Anesthesiology. 96(3):565-75, 2002.

Loeb RG. Fitch WT. A laboratory evaluation of an auditory display designed to enhance intraoperative monitoring. Anesthesia & Analgesia. 94(2):362-8, 2002.

Effken J. Loeb R. Johnson K. Johnson S. Reyna V. Using cognitive work analysis to design clinical displays. Medinfo. 10(Pt 1):127-31, 2001.

Hamza M. Loeb RG. Fire in the operating room. Journal of Clinical Monitoring & Computing. 16(4):317-20, 2000.

STUDENT OPPORTUNITIES THROUGH RESEARCH:

I am especially interested in students with a computer science or engineering background. Much of my research is performed in a full-scale mock-up of an operating room that incorporates an anesthesia patient simulator. The anesthesia patient simulator is a computer-controlled mannikin that replicates the responses of an anesthetized patient. Students who participate in my research will have opportunities to practice their skills on this simulated patient. My clinical research is usually conducted in real operating rooms which an opportunity for students interested in surgery and anesthesia.

SPONSORED RESEARCH THROUGH MSRP:

Connie Funk (MSRP 2001): "Evaluation of needs for the development of audio displays for monitoring systems."

Last updated: 6/14/2006