Latest news with #UniversityofWollongong
The Advertiser
3 days ago
- Health
- The Advertiser
Doctors said their pain was 'in your head' for years, until this surgeon came along
When Adriana Veljanovski's kids were little, she remembers being in agony almost all the time. "No matter where you went, you were constantly in pain," she said. "You'd be at a kid's birthday party, smiling with everyone, and sometimes you'd turn around the corner and just be like, 'oh my God', and duck down for a bit and think, 'I'm in so much pain'. "Then you'd just come back out and get on with it. I lived with a hot water bottle 24/7, I didn't know what else to do." By this point, the woman from the NSW Illawarra region - who is now 45 - had lived with excruciating pelvic pain for decades, and had been told by multiple doctors there was nothing that could be done. "I had pelvic pain as far as I can remember, and I also had discolouration in my legs and swelling," she said. "I had that from a young girl up until an adult, but the pain kept getting worse and I wasn't able to run like everyone else, I wasn't able to go up stairs and I was always short of breath." "I used to go to the doctors and they would try to help me but couldn't figure out what was going on," Ms Veljanovski said. "It got to a point in my late 20s where I was in pain 24/7. "We'd go back to the doctors to try again, but sometimes they would say 'it could be in your mind', and that's where you start thinking, 'am I crazy?'. "I've called ambulances because the pain was so intense, and they couldn't see anything. "They just said, 'Oh, you got a pooling of blood, it may be just your periods'." One day she couldn't see her usual doctor, so went to another GP for an assessment. "I broke down and I said to her, I'm in pain 24/7, the pain is so intense I can't even get out of bed," she said. "I said to her, 'I feel like I'm going insane, everyone's trying to help us, but no one can find the answer'. "So she sat there quietly and went through my whole record and she turned around and said to me, I think you've got May-Thurner Syndrome." Also known as iliac vein compression, this meant the major line that carried blood from her left leg back to the heart was completely closed, and her body had been making new blood vessels to do its job. "It was so compressed, the blood was pooling and I had internal bleeding," she said. Immediately, she was referred to pioneering Wollongong surgeon Dr Laurencia Villalba. "I was booked straight away in for surgery," Ms Veljanovski said, who was 37 when she finally got treatment. "I've jogged for the first time, I can go up and down stairs with no problems. And there's no pain. None at all." The treatment Ms Veljanovski received was a relatively simple stent, like the ones used to treat blocked arteries in heart surgery. Now, a new paper co-authored by Dr Villalba and Associate Professor Theresa Larkin has confirmed the remarkable success rate of the minimally invasive procedure. The two University of Wollongong researchers have detailed their findings - which involves putting a balloon or stent inside the vein to fix the blockage - provided significant and sustained relief for close to 100 per cent of patients. Dr Villalba said the results were astounding and offered hope to those suffering from chronic pelvic pain. "Women who once struggled to sit, work, exercise, have intercourse, who experienced immense pain on a daily basis, have been given back their lives and their freedom," she said. "We have followed these patients for almost a decade now and have observed long-term benefit, meaning the pain did not come back." Chronic pelvic pain affects up to 25 per cent of women of reproductive age and nearly half of Australian women at some point in their lives. Dr Villalba's patients had Pelvic Congestion Syndrome (varicose veins in the pelvis), which is increasingly being recognised as a main contributor to chronic pelvic pain - with some research attributing a third of cases to it. She said women often suffered in silence, dismissed by medical professionals or discouraged by their experiences attempting to seek help. "There is a widespread misconception that pelvic pain is normal. It is extremely common, but that does not mean it is normal," Associate Professor Villalba said. "Pelvic pain of 'venous origin' is not commonly investigated, leaving up to a third of patients underdiagnosed and undertreated, and depriving them of the opportunity to live life with their full potential. "It is not uncommon for me to hear women who have been told 'It is all in your head', or 'You need to learn to live with the pain', when doctors can't find a reason for the pain." The study focused on 113 women, aged between 17 and 88, who underwent the procedure. Some had been suffering from pelvic pain for up to 25 years, with an average of seven years. When Kasey started suffering excruciating pelvic pain in her 40s, she was sent home from multiple GPs and specialists with little more than Panadol and a dismissive attitude. "I got told, even through specialists, that it was all in my head," the Wollongong woman said. "The pain was excruciating all down in my pelvic area. It was debilitating. "I was in and out of doctors and specialists and they blamed it on endometriosis, and then I was in and out of hospital, and they'd just give you pain relief and then it comes back again." "I had pain for two years before I knew what it was. Sometimes I couldn't sit, I couldn't stand." Finally, one GP took her seriously and suggested she have an internal ultrasound while her symptoms were flaring up. Like Ms Veljanovski she had May-Thurner Syndrome and an almost completely compressed left iliac vein. "That explained why I was pretty much lethargic and tired, and every time I'd do exercise, I would have to sleep for three hours," Kasey said. "I just had no energy whatsoever." She said Dr Villalba's surgery changed her life. "That was just a game changer for me," Kasey said. "She pretty much saved my life. "I remember waking up from the surgery and immediately saying, 'Oh my God, I can breathe, the pain is gone' and Dr Villalba said "You're not the only patient that has said that". Happily for Ms Veljanovski, her treatment has also meant her daughter - who, like her mother, started showing symptoms of pelvic congestion when she was young - won't have to live with years of pain. "When she wasn't as active when she gave up ballet, she had the same symptoms - dizzy, her legs would start swelling, she wasn't feeling well, she had severe stomach pains," Ms Veljanovski said. "But she's lucky hers wasn't compressed, and now Dr Villalba is monitoring her as well. "Because this condition is starting to become more well-known, and we've caught it beforehand, that means she can exercise, monitor it and get her scans done and she might not even need the stent in." When Adriana Veljanovski's kids were little, she remembers being in agony almost all the time. "No matter where you went, you were constantly in pain," she said. "You'd be at a kid's birthday party, smiling with everyone, and sometimes you'd turn around the corner and just be like, 'oh my God', and duck down for a bit and think, 'I'm in so much pain'. "Then you'd just come back out and get on with it. I lived with a hot water bottle 24/7, I didn't know what else to do." By this point, the woman from the NSW Illawarra region - who is now 45 - had lived with excruciating pelvic pain for decades, and had been told by multiple doctors there was nothing that could be done. "I had pelvic pain as far as I can remember, and I also had discolouration in my legs and swelling," she said. "I had that from a young girl up until an adult, but the pain kept getting worse and I wasn't able to run like everyone else, I wasn't able to go up stairs and I was always short of breath." "I used to go to the doctors and they would try to help me but couldn't figure out what was going on," Ms Veljanovski said. "It got to a point in my late 20s where I was in pain 24/7. "We'd go back to the doctors to try again, but sometimes they would say 'it could be in your mind', and that's where you start thinking, 'am I crazy?'. "I've called ambulances because the pain was so intense, and they couldn't see anything. "They just said, 'Oh, you got a pooling of blood, it may be just your periods'." One day she couldn't see her usual doctor, so went to another GP for an assessment. "I broke down and I said to her, I'm in pain 24/7, the pain is so intense I can't even get out of bed," she said. "I said to her, 'I feel like I'm going insane, everyone's trying to help us, but no one can find the answer'. "So she sat there quietly and went through my whole record and she turned around and said to me, I think you've got May-Thurner Syndrome." Also known as iliac vein compression, this meant the major line that carried blood from her left leg back to the heart was completely closed, and her body had been making new blood vessels to do its job. "It was so compressed, the blood was pooling and I had internal bleeding," she said. Immediately, she was referred to pioneering Wollongong surgeon Dr Laurencia Villalba. "I was booked straight away in for surgery," Ms Veljanovski said, who was 37 when she finally got treatment. "I've jogged for the first time, I can go up and down stairs with no problems. And there's no pain. None at all." The treatment Ms Veljanovski received was a relatively simple stent, like the ones used to treat blocked arteries in heart surgery. Now, a new paper co-authored by Dr Villalba and Associate Professor Theresa Larkin has confirmed the remarkable success rate of the minimally invasive procedure. The two University of Wollongong researchers have detailed their findings - which involves putting a balloon or stent inside the vein to fix the blockage - provided significant and sustained relief for close to 100 per cent of patients. Dr Villalba said the results were astounding and offered hope to those suffering from chronic pelvic pain. "Women who once struggled to sit, work, exercise, have intercourse, who experienced immense pain on a daily basis, have been given back their lives and their freedom," she said. "We have followed these patients for almost a decade now and have observed long-term benefit, meaning the pain did not come back." Chronic pelvic pain affects up to 25 per cent of women of reproductive age and nearly half of Australian women at some point in their lives. Dr Villalba's patients had Pelvic Congestion Syndrome (varicose veins in the pelvis), which is increasingly being recognised as a main contributor to chronic pelvic pain - with some research attributing a third of cases to it. She said women often suffered in silence, dismissed by medical professionals or discouraged by their experiences attempting to seek help. "There is a widespread misconception that pelvic pain is normal. It is extremely common, but that does not mean it is normal," Associate Professor Villalba said. "Pelvic pain of 'venous origin' is not commonly investigated, leaving up to a third of patients underdiagnosed and undertreated, and depriving them of the opportunity to live life with their full potential. "It is not uncommon for me to hear women who have been told 'It is all in your head', or 'You need to learn to live with the pain', when doctors can't find a reason for the pain." The study focused on 113 women, aged between 17 and 88, who underwent the procedure. Some had been suffering from pelvic pain for up to 25 years, with an average of seven years. When Kasey started suffering excruciating pelvic pain in her 40s, she was sent home from multiple GPs and specialists with little more than Panadol and a dismissive attitude. "I got told, even through specialists, that it was all in my head," the Wollongong woman said. "The pain was excruciating all down in my pelvic area. It was debilitating. "I was in and out of doctors and specialists and they blamed it on endometriosis, and then I was in and out of hospital, and they'd just give you pain relief and then it comes back again." "I had pain for two years before I knew what it was. Sometimes I couldn't sit, I couldn't stand." Finally, one GP took her seriously and suggested she have an internal ultrasound while her symptoms were flaring up. Like Ms Veljanovski she had May-Thurner Syndrome and an almost completely compressed left iliac vein. "That explained why I was pretty much lethargic and tired, and every time I'd do exercise, I would have to sleep for three hours," Kasey said. "I just had no energy whatsoever." She said Dr Villalba's surgery changed her life. "That was just a game changer for me," Kasey said. "She pretty much saved my life. "I remember waking up from the surgery and immediately saying, 'Oh my God, I can breathe, the pain is gone' and Dr Villalba said "You're not the only patient that has said that". Happily for Ms Veljanovski, her treatment has also meant her daughter - who, like her mother, started showing symptoms of pelvic congestion when she was young - won't have to live with years of pain. "When she wasn't as active when she gave up ballet, she had the same symptoms - dizzy, her legs would start swelling, she wasn't feeling well, she had severe stomach pains," Ms Veljanovski said. "But she's lucky hers wasn't compressed, and now Dr Villalba is monitoring her as well. "Because this condition is starting to become more well-known, and we've caught it beforehand, that means she can exercise, monitor it and get her scans done and she might not even need the stent in." When Adriana Veljanovski's kids were little, she remembers being in agony almost all the time. "No matter where you went, you were constantly in pain," she said. "You'd be at a kid's birthday party, smiling with everyone, and sometimes you'd turn around the corner and just be like, 'oh my God', and duck down for a bit and think, 'I'm in so much pain'. "Then you'd just come back out and get on with it. I lived with a hot water bottle 24/7, I didn't know what else to do." By this point, the woman from the NSW Illawarra region - who is now 45 - had lived with excruciating pelvic pain for decades, and had been told by multiple doctors there was nothing that could be done. "I had pelvic pain as far as I can remember, and I also had discolouration in my legs and swelling," she said. "I had that from a young girl up until an adult, but the pain kept getting worse and I wasn't able to run like everyone else, I wasn't able to go up stairs and I was always short of breath." "I used to go to the doctors and they would try to help me but couldn't figure out what was going on," Ms Veljanovski said. "It got to a point in my late 20s where I was in pain 24/7. "We'd go back to the doctors to try again, but sometimes they would say 'it could be in your mind', and that's where you start thinking, 'am I crazy?'. "I've called ambulances because the pain was so intense, and they couldn't see anything. "They just said, 'Oh, you got a pooling of blood, it may be just your periods'." One day she couldn't see her usual doctor, so went to another GP for an assessment. "I broke down and I said to her, I'm in pain 24/7, the pain is so intense I can't even get out of bed," she said. "I said to her, 'I feel like I'm going insane, everyone's trying to help us, but no one can find the answer'. "So she sat there quietly and went through my whole record and she turned around and said to me, I think you've got May-Thurner Syndrome." Also known as iliac vein compression, this meant the major line that carried blood from her left leg back to the heart was completely closed, and her body had been making new blood vessels to do its job. "It was so compressed, the blood was pooling and I had internal bleeding," she said. Immediately, she was referred to pioneering Wollongong surgeon Dr Laurencia Villalba. "I was booked straight away in for surgery," Ms Veljanovski said, who was 37 when she finally got treatment. "I've jogged for the first time, I can go up and down stairs with no problems. And there's no pain. None at all." The treatment Ms Veljanovski received was a relatively simple stent, like the ones used to treat blocked arteries in heart surgery. Now, a new paper co-authored by Dr Villalba and Associate Professor Theresa Larkin has confirmed the remarkable success rate of the minimally invasive procedure. The two University of Wollongong researchers have detailed their findings - which involves putting a balloon or stent inside the vein to fix the blockage - provided significant and sustained relief for close to 100 per cent of patients. Dr Villalba said the results were astounding and offered hope to those suffering from chronic pelvic pain. "Women who once struggled to sit, work, exercise, have intercourse, who experienced immense pain on a daily basis, have been given back their lives and their freedom," she said. "We have followed these patients for almost a decade now and have observed long-term benefit, meaning the pain did not come back." Chronic pelvic pain affects up to 25 per cent of women of reproductive age and nearly half of Australian women at some point in their lives. Dr Villalba's patients had Pelvic Congestion Syndrome (varicose veins in the pelvis), which is increasingly being recognised as a main contributor to chronic pelvic pain - with some research attributing a third of cases to it. She said women often suffered in silence, dismissed by medical professionals or discouraged by their experiences attempting to seek help. "There is a widespread misconception that pelvic pain is normal. It is extremely common, but that does not mean it is normal," Associate Professor Villalba said. "Pelvic pain of 'venous origin' is not commonly investigated, leaving up to a third of patients underdiagnosed and undertreated, and depriving them of the opportunity to live life with their full potential. "It is not uncommon for me to hear women who have been told 'It is all in your head', or 'You need to learn to live with the pain', when doctors can't find a reason for the pain." The study focused on 113 women, aged between 17 and 88, who underwent the procedure. Some had been suffering from pelvic pain for up to 25 years, with an average of seven years. When Kasey started suffering excruciating pelvic pain in her 40s, she was sent home from multiple GPs and specialists with little more than Panadol and a dismissive attitude. "I got told, even through specialists, that it was all in my head," the Wollongong woman said. "The pain was excruciating all down in my pelvic area. It was debilitating. "I was in and out of doctors and specialists and they blamed it on endometriosis, and then I was in and out of hospital, and they'd just give you pain relief and then it comes back again." "I had pain for two years before I knew what it was. Sometimes I couldn't sit, I couldn't stand." Finally, one GP took her seriously and suggested she have an internal ultrasound while her symptoms were flaring up. Like Ms Veljanovski she had May-Thurner Syndrome and an almost completely compressed left iliac vein. "That explained why I was pretty much lethargic and tired, and every time I'd do exercise, I would have to sleep for three hours," Kasey said. "I just had no energy whatsoever." She said Dr Villalba's surgery changed her life. "That was just a game changer for me," Kasey said. "She pretty much saved my life. "I remember waking up from the surgery and immediately saying, 'Oh my God, I can breathe, the pain is gone' and Dr Villalba said "You're not the only patient that has said that". Happily for Ms Veljanovski, her treatment has also meant her daughter - who, like her mother, started showing symptoms of pelvic congestion when she was young - won't have to live with years of pain. "When she wasn't as active when she gave up ballet, she had the same symptoms - dizzy, her legs would start swelling, she wasn't feeling well, she had severe stomach pains," Ms Veljanovski said. "But she's lucky hers wasn't compressed, and now Dr Villalba is monitoring her as well. "Because this condition is starting to become more well-known, and we've caught it beforehand, that means she can exercise, monitor it and get her scans done and she might not even need the stent in." When Adriana Veljanovski's kids were little, she remembers being in agony almost all the time. "No matter where you went, you were constantly in pain," she said. "You'd be at a kid's birthday party, smiling with everyone, and sometimes you'd turn around the corner and just be like, 'oh my God', and duck down for a bit and think, 'I'm in so much pain'. "Then you'd just come back out and get on with it. I lived with a hot water bottle 24/7, I didn't know what else to do." By this point, the woman from the NSW Illawarra region - who is now 45 - had lived with excruciating pelvic pain for decades, and had been told by multiple doctors there was nothing that could be done. "I had pelvic pain as far as I can remember, and I also had discolouration in my legs and swelling," she said. "I had that from a young girl up until an adult, but the pain kept getting worse and I wasn't able to run like everyone else, I wasn't able to go up stairs and I was always short of breath." "I used to go to the doctors and they would try to help me but couldn't figure out what was going on," Ms Veljanovski said. "It got to a point in my late 20s where I was in pain 24/7. "We'd go back to the doctors to try again, but sometimes they would say 'it could be in your mind', and that's where you start thinking, 'am I crazy?'. "I've called ambulances because the pain was so intense, and they couldn't see anything. "They just said, 'Oh, you got a pooling of blood, it may be just your periods'." One day she couldn't see her usual doctor, so went to another GP for an assessment. "I broke down and I said to her, I'm in pain 24/7, the pain is so intense I can't even get out of bed," she said. "I said to her, 'I feel like I'm going insane, everyone's trying to help us, but no one can find the answer'. "So she sat there quietly and went through my whole record and she turned around and said to me, I think you've got May-Thurner Syndrome." Also known as iliac vein compression, this meant the major line that carried blood from her left leg back to the heart was completely closed, and her body had been making new blood vessels to do its job. "It was so compressed, the blood was pooling and I had internal bleeding," she said. Immediately, she was referred to pioneering Wollongong surgeon Dr Laurencia Villalba. "I was booked straight away in for surgery," Ms Veljanovski said, who was 37 when she finally got treatment. "I've jogged for the first time, I can go up and down stairs with no problems. And there's no pain. None at all." The treatment Ms Veljanovski received was a relatively simple stent, like the ones used to treat blocked arteries in heart surgery. Now, a new paper co-authored by Dr Villalba and Associate Professor Theresa Larkin has confirmed the remarkable success rate of the minimally invasive procedure. The two University of Wollongong researchers have detailed their findings - which involves putting a balloon or stent inside the vein to fix the blockage - provided significant and sustained relief for close to 100 per cent of patients. Dr Villalba said the results were astounding and offered hope to those suffering from chronic pelvic pain. "Women who once struggled to sit, work, exercise, have intercourse, who experienced immense pain on a daily basis, have been given back their lives and their freedom," she said. "We have followed these patients for almost a decade now and have observed long-term benefit, meaning the pain did not come back." Chronic pelvic pain affects up to 25 per cent of women of reproductive age and nearly half of Australian women at some point in their lives. Dr Villalba's patients had Pelvic Congestion Syndrome (varicose veins in the pelvis), which is increasingly being recognised as a main contributor to chronic pelvic pain - with some research attributing a third of cases to it. She said women often suffered in silence, dismissed by medical professionals or discouraged by their experiences attempting to seek help. "There is a widespread misconception that pelvic pain is normal. It is extremely common, but that does not mean it is normal," Associate Professor Villalba said. "Pelvic pain of 'venous origin' is not commonly investigated, leaving up to a third of patients underdiagnosed and undertreated, and depriving them of the opportunity to live life with their full potential. "It is not uncommon for me to hear women who have been told 'It is all in your head', or 'You need to learn to live with the pain', when doctors can't find a reason for the pain." The study focused on 113 women, aged between 17 and 88, who underwent the procedure. Some had been suffering from pelvic pain for up to 25 years, with an average of seven years. When Kasey started suffering excruciating pelvic pain in her 40s, she was sent home from multiple GPs and specialists with little more than Panadol and a dismissive attitude. "I got told, even through specialists, that it was all in my head," the Wollongong woman said. "The pain was excruciating all down in my pelvic area. It was debilitating. "I was in and out of doctors and specialists and they blamed it on endometriosis, and then I was in and out of hospital, and they'd just give you pain relief and then it comes back again." "I had pain for two years before I knew what it was. Sometimes I couldn't sit, I couldn't stand." Finally, one GP took her seriously and suggested she have an internal ultrasound while her symptoms were flaring up. Like Ms Veljanovski she had May-Thurner Syndrome and an almost completely compressed left iliac vein. "That explained why I was pretty much lethargic and tired, and every time I'd do exercise, I would have to sleep for three hours," Kasey said. "I just had no energy whatsoever." She said Dr Villalba's surgery changed her life. "That was just a game changer for me," Kasey said. "She pretty much saved my life. "I remember waking up from the surgery and immediately saying, 'Oh my God, I can breathe, the pain is gone' and Dr Villalba said "You're not the only patient that has said that". Happily for Ms Veljanovski, her treatment has also meant her daughter - who, like her mother, started showing symptoms of pelvic congestion when she was young - won't have to live with years of pain. "When she wasn't as active when she gave up ballet, she had the same symptoms - dizzy, her legs would start swelling, she wasn't feeling well, she had severe stomach pains," Ms Veljanovski said. "But she's lucky hers wasn't compressed, and now Dr Villalba is monitoring her as well. "Because this condition is starting to become more well-known, and we've caught it beforehand, that means she can exercise, monitor it and get her scans done and she might not even need the stent in."
Straits Times
4 days ago
- Straits Times
Researchers create chatbot to teach law class in university, but it kept messing up
Despite the enthusiasm, there is limited research testing how well AI performs in teaching environments, especially within structured university courses. PHOTO: ISTOCKPHOTO Researchers create chatbot to teach law class in university, but it kept messing up A significant revelation was the sheer effort required to get the chatbot working effectively in tests. 'AI tutors' have been hyped as a way to revolutionise education. The idea is generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools (such as ChatGPT) could adapt to any teaching style set by a teacher. The AI could guide students step-by-step through problems and offer hints without giving away answers. It could then deliver precise, immediate feedback tailored to the student's individual learning gaps. Despite the enthusiasm, there is limited research testing how well AI performs in teaching environments, especially within structured university courses. In our new study, we developed our own AI tool for a university law class. We wanted to know, can it genuinely support personalised learning or are we expecting too much? Our study In 2022, we developed SmartTest, a customisable educational chatbot, as part of a broader project to democratise access to AI tools in education. Unlike generic chatbots, SmartTest is purpose-built for educators, allowing them to embed questions, model answers and prompts. This means the chatbot can ask relevant questions, deliver accurate and consistent feedback and minimise hallucinations (or mistakes). SmartTest is also instructed to use the Socratic method, encouraging students to think, rather than spoon-feeding them answers. We trialled SmartTest over five test cycles in a criminal law course (that one of us was coordinating) at the University of Wollongong in 2023. Each cycle introduced varying degrees of complexity. The first three cycles used short hypothetical criminal law scenarios (for example, is the accused guilty of theft in this scenario?). The last two cycles used simple short-answer questions (for example, what's the maximum sentencing discount for a guilty plea?). An average of 35 students interacted with SmartTest in each cycle across several criminal law tutorials. Participation was voluntary and anonymous, with students interacting with SmartTest on their own devices for up to 10 minutes per session. Students' conversations with SmartTest – their attempts at answering the question, and the immediate feedback they received from the chatbot – were recorded in our database. After the final test cycle, we surveyed students about their experience. What we found SmartTest showed promise in guiding students and helping them identify gaps in their understanding. However, in the first three cycles (the problem-scenario questions), between 40 per cent and 54 per cent of conversations had at least one example of inaccurate, misleading or incorrect feedback. When we shifted to much simpler short-answer format in cycles four and five, the error rate dropped significantly to between 6 per cent and 27 per cent. However, even in these best-performing cycles, some errors persisted. For example, sometimes SmartTest would affirm an incorrect answer before providing the correct one, which risks confusing students. A significant revelation was the sheer effort required to get the chatbot working effectively in our tests. Far from a time-saving silver bullet, integrating SmartTest involved painstaking prompt engineering and rigorous manual assessments from educators (in this case, us). This paradox – where a tool promoted as labour-saving demands significant labour – calls into question its practical benefits for already time-poor educators. Inconsistency is a core issue SmartTest's behaviour was also unpredictable. Under identical conditions, it sometimes offered excellent feedback and at other times provided incorrect, confusing or misleading information. For an educational tool tasked with supporting student learning, this raises serious concerns about reliability and trustworthiness. To assess if newer models improved performance, we replaced the underlying generative AI powering SmartTest (ChatGPT-4) with newer models such as ChatGPT-4.5, which was released in 2025. We tested these models by replicating instances where SmartTest provided poor feedback to students in our study. The newer models did not consistently outperform older ones. Sometimes, their responses were even less accurate or useful from a teaching perspective. As such, newer, more advanced AI models do not automatically translate to better educational outcomes. What does this mean for students and teachers? The implications for students and university staff are mixed. Generative AI may support low-stakes, formative learning activities. But in our study, it could not provide the reliability, nuance and subject-matter depth needed for many educational contexts. On the plus side, our survey results indicated students appreciated the immediate feedback and conversational tone of SmartTest. Some mentioned it reduced anxiety and made them more comfortable expressing uncertainty. However, this benefit came with a catch: Incorrect or misleading answers could just as easily reinforce misunderstandings as clarify them. Most students (76 per cent) preferred having access to SmartTest rather than no opportunity to practise questions. However, when given the choice between receiving immediate feedback from AI or waiting one or more days for feedback from human tutors, only 27 per cent preferred AI. Nearly half preferred human feedback with a delay, and the rest were indifferent. This suggests a critical challenge. Students enjoy the convenience of AI tools, but they still place higher trust in human educators. A need for caution Our findings suggest generative AI should still be treated as an experimental educational aid. The potential is real – but so are the limitations. Relying too heavily on AI without rigorous evaluation risks compromising the very educational outcomes we are aiming to enhance. Armin Alimardani is senior lecturer in law and emerging technologies at the University of Wollongong, in Australia, and Emma A. Jane is associate professor, School of Arts and Media, UNSW Sydney. This article was first published in The Conversation Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
AU Financial Review
26-05-2025
- Business
- AU Financial Review
Wollongong: The coastal city leading an entrepreneurial revolution
In recent years, Wollongong has become a hub for start-ups and the young entrepreneurs who want to build their businesses in a forward-thinking supportive community. For starters, launching a start-up away from the major cities is more cost-effective, which reduces the risk of scaling a business. And entrepreneurs can get stuck into creating their business while still enjoying a thriving coastal lifestyle. Wollongong's smaller size also lends itself to a supportive business community, where people genuinely want to network and build things together. Then there's the University of Wollongong (UOW), which creates a steady pipeline of high-performing research, tech and engineering graduates ready for the hire. Leading this revolution is iAccelerate. Established in 2016, iAccelerate is one of Australia's largest and longest running business accelerators providing entrepreneurs with the skills, mentorship and business connections to be successful. Located at UOW's Innovation Campus, the world-class business incubator has been instrumental in supporting more than 385 start-up and scale-up companies, and was named as a finalist in the prestigious 2024 Asia-Pacific Triple E Awards. iAccelerate director Dr Tamantha Stutchbury describes the program as a 'lightning rod for innovation'. 'Central to our values is the belief that anyone can be an entrepreneur,' says Stutchbury. 'That's why the program actively supports underrepresented groups in entrepreneurship, from women to First Nations, and culturally and linguistically diverse entrepreneurs.'
Sydney Morning Herald
24-05-2025
- Health
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘I was alive but not living': The chance discovery that saved Lilli chronic pelvic pain
'What did you do to me?' is not a phrase doctors want to hear from a patient after surgery. But for vascular surgeon Laurencia Villalba, it became a welcome pattern among her female patients with varicose veins. 'I'd answer, 'I fixed your leg', and they would say, 'but the pelvic pain is gone too',' said associate professor Villalba, an honorary fellow at the University of Wollongong's faculty of Science, Medicine and Health. Persistent pelvic pain affects between 15 and 25 per cent of Australian women. But research into the poorly understood, complex and multifactorial causes is underfunded, leaving an estimated 50 per cent of cases undiagnosed. 'So, I started looking more closely and asking more questions, and I soon realised that a lot of my patients had chronic pelvic pain that had not been diagnosed, or treated or even investigated,' Villalba said. Pelvic congestion syndrome (PCS) is among the chronically under-researched contributors to chronic pelvic pain. It's characterised by damage to the major veins that run through the pelvis, restricting blood flow and causing pressure to build up. Some studies suggest this may contribute to 30 to 40 per cent of chronic pelvic pain cases where no other cause (such as endometriosis) can be identified. Loading One promising treatment is stenting, which involves inserting a small mesh tube to open a narrowing or blocked vein. The technique is more commonly associated with repairing the arteries of cardiovascular patients. A recent study, led by Villalba, followed 113 women (aged 17 to 88) with a blockage in an iliac vein – major veins running from each leg through the pelvis – who underwent stenting after suffering severe pelvic pain, some for up to 25 years. Before stenting, the women's median pain score was seven out of 10 (10 being the most severe).
The Age
24-05-2025
- Health
- The Age
‘I was alive but not living': The chance discovery that saved Lilli chronic pelvic pain
'What did you do to me?' is not a phrase doctors want to hear from a patient after surgery. But for vascular surgeon Laurencia Villalba, it became a welcome pattern among her female patients with varicose veins. 'I'd answer, 'I fixed your leg', and they would say, 'but the pelvic pain is gone too',' said associate professor Villalba, an honorary fellow at the University of Wollongong's faculty of Science, Medicine and Health. Persistent pelvic pain affects between 15 and 25 per cent of Australian women. But research into the poorly understood, complex and multifactorial causes is underfunded, leaving an estimated 50 per cent of cases undiagnosed. 'So, I started looking more closely and asking more questions, and I soon realised that a lot of my patients had chronic pelvic pain that had not been diagnosed, or treated or even investigated,' Villalba said. Pelvic congestion syndrome (PCS) is among the chronically under-researched contributors to chronic pelvic pain. It's characterised by damage to the major veins that run through the pelvis, restricting blood flow and causing pressure to build up. Some studies suggest this may contribute to 30 to 40 per cent of chronic pelvic pain cases where no other cause (such as endometriosis) can be identified. Loading One promising treatment is stenting, which involves inserting a small mesh tube to open a narrowing or blocked vein. The technique is more commonly associated with repairing the arteries of cardiovascular patients. A recent study, led by Villalba, followed 113 women (aged 17 to 88) with a blockage in an iliac vein – major veins running from each leg through the pelvis – who underwent stenting after suffering severe pelvic pain, some for up to 25 years. Before stenting, the women's median pain score was seven out of 10 (10 being the most severe).
