Sick (Man)nequin – A New Way To Train Medics

How would you react if you saw a sweating, bleeding, gasping car crash victim, whose bones are all protruding out following multiple fractures? Sick! To even think about.

This is a fact of life at most Emergency Rooms (ER), however medics manning ERs are not only used to working in such 'picturesque' environs, but their training enables them to act wisely, use the right medical instruments, save lives, and not be overwhelmed by scary scenes.

Apparently, becoming a professional medic only comes with hundreds of hours of training. And more importantly they need to learn to make the right decisions instantly, as even a single slip could mean death. But since, it can be a risky a affair to allow newbies to try their hands on real patients, lifelike mannequins can positively make a good substitute, like the one being used at the University of Portsmouth's Expert Centre.

The Sick & Lifelike Mannequin

It's called the "iStan," which is an eponymous to 'standard man.’ Constructed from the inside out, the Mannequin's anatomy is a precise imitation of a real human skeleton.

The "Man's" various body parts such as the spine, neck, arms and hips can move like that of a human. Moreover, it can cry, blink, can have dilated/contracted pupils, its blood pressure can change, and the internal organs can bleed. He can even produce realistic sounds of lung collapse and bowels.

Other realistic functionalities that render it life like include:

• Blood and body fluids can be loaded on board, so that he can vomit and bleed.
• A lifelike skin can sweat and develop goosebumps.
• Broken bones can protrude right through the skin.
• The body cavity can house a baby to make it into a pregnant ant woman.
• It can even simulate a torn off limb, ugh! With blood profusely oozing out.
• And just pinch the nail to see it turn blue as blood accumulates inside.

An intriguing feature of this sophisticated sculpture is that apart from being wireless, it can be remote-controlled from a distance (50 feet) as well. I think this is quite useful too, because you could have a trainer activate vomiting, change the blood pressure, etc., and suddenly make a case more challenging for a team of trainees, just when they thought that their job was over!

Reportedly, some students are even wary during their first encounter with the simulators because it's realistic. Innovations, do indeed help make budding professionals become more skilled even before they lay their hands or surgical instruments on their first real patient. And this one positively is a nice toy for medics to play with and learn from.

A couple of days back I had covered a research wherein scientists made use of animation to hone surgical skills, see the post: Video Game Surgery – A New Way To Train Surgeons to learn more.