A New Life:From the army band to computer science, Dave Murphy tells Michelle McDonaghhow he is now on a fascinating journey of exploring the application of new technology to the medical field.
As a lecturer in computer science at University College Cork, Dave Murphy is working at the cutting edge of the emerging field of interactive medical technology. This work is taking him on a fascinating journey involving the development of "serious" virtual reality games for the training of junior doctors and simulators for surgeons to practise their skills on.
It's a world apart from his former job as a private in the Irish Army's School of Music but, strangely enough, it was actually music which led him to his current career in computers through his interest in music technology and multimedia.
"Interactive medical technology is a really exciting area to be involved in. The idea of applying game technology to something as serious as medicine is a completely new concept.
"My philosophy in life is that change is the only constant. If I am not passionate about what I'm doing, I lose interest very quickly, but there's more than enough going on right now in this field to keep me engaged for many years to come," he explains.
When Murphy left school in his native Cork city in the late 1980s, there was mass unemployment in Ireland and the economic outlook was grim. In 1988 he joined the Irish Army as a regular soldier, but within a year he had applied to transfer to the army band, a move which was virtually unheard of in the history of the army and required special permission from senior officials.
As a boy, he had played the tuba with the local Butter Exchange military brass band and within a couple of years of picking up an instrument, had won a scholarship to the Cork School of Music to study brass instruments and joined the Irish National Wind Instrument Ensemble.
"My job in the army band was basically to play music all the time. We were in for parade first thing in the morning, then back to the band hall for practice and rehearsals in between gigs. The band could be playing in the National Concert Hall one night and the following week, in a local community hall at a country fair in the middle of nowhere," he explains.
Through the influence of his commanding officer and band conductor in Cork, Pat Nolan, Murphy decided to study for a degree in music at UCC, specialising in music media and multimedia while still working full time with the band.
His wife, Dee, had studied computers at Cork Institute of Technology and she was always encouraging him to upskill himself in this area so he did a number of part-time courses. He ended up making computers central to his music studies and took as many computer-type modules as possible.
In 1996 he graduated with a Bachelors in Music majoring in music technology and multimedia and the department of music at UCC hired him as a part-time lecturer to further develop this emerging field.
He decided to leave the army at this point and took a job with Apple as a music technology multimedia specialist along with his lecturing job.
After two years of working with Apple, Murphy was approached by the department of computer science at UCC who was interested in setting up a multimedia department and wanted him to come on board.
He started lecturing full time in the department, specialising in multimedia and since then he has been involved in the development of multimedia education at the university.
As well as teaching digital sound and music technology, Murphy has become heavily involved in the area of virtual reality - total immersion technology which involves bringing the user right into the computer experience.
Five years ago, Murphy started focusing on applying virtual reality to medicine working with various medical groups to develop tools for practical use. This culminated in January with the formation of a research group called IMC (Interactive Medical Computer) Lab of which he is co-director.
He explains: "This concept is totally new. It's about exploring the application of new technology to the medical field and it's taking me on the most fantastic journey. We have developed surgical simulators for surgeons to practise on and 'serious games' to train junior doctors in particular procedures and practices.
"One game called Junior Doc, which has got rave reviews in the field, takes a junior through various clinical scenarios and is designed to stimulate the cognitive aspects of medical decision making.
"It's quite sophisticated in that it remembers the student and refers to him/her by their first name when they come back. The condition and outcome of the patient changes based on the doctor's actions and decisions."
The IMC has also received a research grant from the Health Research Board and HSE for a telemedicine project in conjunction with Cork University Hospital and Murphy sees the concept of telemedicine as a huge area of development in the future.
Somewhere along the way, he is also finding the time to study towards a PhD in Trinity College Dublin in the area of surgical simulators.
"While what I am doing now is very different from the army, there are some similarities. The army school of music was very much about creativity and working as a team. Now, I am forging ahead in interactive medical technology but the team element is still there and the work I am involved in is incredibly creative."
And, as Murphy is so very keen to stress, he is blessed with the best family anyone could ask for in his wife Dee and their two children, Adam (7) and Emily (2).