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Roll
your mouse over Stan to see some of his key features. — Photo
courtesy of METI.
The Center for Medical Education and Innovation™ uses four adult
patient simulators, one pediatric version and one of the first infant
patient simulators in the world in place of learning with real patients.
Each patient simulator is
computer controlled and can be programmed to react in very human ways,
with more than 72,000 combinations of physiologic responses. Medical
devices can be attached to the simulators to train medical professionals
in the proper implementation and use of certain medical equipment and
drugs.
The simulators are so life-like that they breathe in oxygen and exhale
carbon dioxide. They:
- reproduce breath and heart sounds, pulse readings, drug reactions,
as well as thousands of other physiologic reactions
- speak, blink eyes and emit other reflexive and non-reflexive reactions
- exhibit vital parameters (ECG, heart rate, blood pressure, oxyhemoglobin
saturation) shown on the patient monitor
- represent a wide range of patient configurations— male or
female, young to elderly, healthy to diseased
- receive and react to medical procedures, such as chest tube placement
and central line insertion, pericardiocentesis, needle compression
and diagnostic peritoneal lavage
Life-like
configured rooms
CME+I virtual hospital rooms are configured specifically to support
and interface with the patient simulators. They include an operating
room, an intensive care unit, a trauma suite and a patient room.
Control
room
There is also a control room for the patient simulation technicians,
as well as teaching personnel, who can communicate with the learners
and monitor and control the patient simulators. During these teaching
sessions, all activities are recorded and stored using microphones,
cameras and AV feeds.
As the patient simulators are "driven" through various levels
of care, they can be moved between rooms, as in a life-like situation,
from trauma to operating room, from operating room to intensive care
unit.
Movable
walls
The Center's virtual hospital rooms are also provided with movable walls.
These allow for the reconfiguration of the teaching environment based
on the needs of the situation being taught. For example, the walls between
the rooms can rise into the ceiling, allowing the environment to be
used as one large emergency department for triage of mass casualties
and/or to practice disaster preparedness.
Debriefing rooms are also provided for preparation
before and/or review after the simulation exercises.
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