Dr. LeRoy Heinrichs

Stanford University School of Medicine   Associate Director, Emeritus Active, Dept. of GYN/OB   Research Profile

Background     

Dr. Heinrichs earned his M.D. degree at the University of Oklahoma, and completed Obstetrics and Gynecology training at Harper Hospital, Detroit, Michigan. He studied Biochemistry (Steroids) at the University of Oregon Health Sciences, earning his Ph.D. His academic appointment in Ob/Gyn at the University of Washington, led to an early career in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility. As the new Chair of Gyn/Ob in 1976 at Stanford University, he ushered in the new practice of advanced videoendoscopic surgery, and conducted clinical trials with therapies for endometriosis, and for hormone replacement therapy. He has one patent, and is co-patentee on two in reproductive endocrinology, and another on wound sensors.

Research Interests

Dr. Heinrichs chose early retirement from clinical practice and teaching in 1993 to develop surgical simulation technologies. Upon returning from a start-up venture, Dr. Heinrichs joined SUMMIT where he developed a set of 3D anatomical models from cadaveric slices of a female pelvis. Named Lucy 2.0, these models, released in 1996, are the graphical component of a Surgical Workbench designed to teach the fundamentals of surgery. A bimanual haptic workstation, co-developed with a local haptics company, is the user interface for manipulating the tissues and organs of the model set. Visual perception, stereo viewing, and haptics learning and instruction are current ‘hot buttons’.