New Human Patient Simulator Unveiled at QEII
A new, high-tech human patient simulator that will revolutionize the training of health professionals in Atlantic Canada was unveiled today by Health Minister Jim Smith at the Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre in Halifax.
The state-of-the-art mannequin incorporates technology used in aviation and space flight simulators.
The artificial human body is connected to a computer that displays life signs and is a model of the cardiovascular system including pulse, respiration, blood pressure and heart rhythm, as well as other clinical signs, such as temperature, twitch response and reactive eyes. The mannequin can also speak and answer questions. Trainees can practise a variety of procedures and receive immediate feedback from instructors.
"It's really a unique tool for training health professionals to perform a wide variety of procedures," said Dr. Smith. "The simulator can help teach proper responses to cardiac arrest, airway management procedures as well as the proper administration of drugs."
The new human patient simulator will be part of the Atlantic Health Training and Simulation Centre at the QEII and various groups can rent it. The Dalhousie Medical School has already booked time for its students. The simulator can also be transported around Atlantic Canada in a specially equipped ambulance to provide continuing education to health professionals in all four Atlantic Canada provinces.
"We are proud to have this state-of-the-art equipment here at the QEII," said Bob Smith, QEII president and chief executive officer. "The simulator will provide very valuable crisis training for students and health professionals, and will result in enhanced patient care and education, here, and elsewhere in Atlantic Canada."
The mannequin can mimic some common conditions that emergency medical professionals have to deal with on a regular basis, such as a punctured lung, collapsed lung, hypoglycemia, heart failure, cardiac arrest, asthmatic attacks, allergic reactions, and internal bleeding in a trauma patient.
"We originally conceived that this type of equipment would be used as a training tool for paramedics in Nova Scotia as a way of helping them practise techniques and develop decision-making skills," said Dr. Mike Murphy, executive director of the Department of Health's Emergency Health Services division. "We realized that this simulator could also be used by other health professionals, and those in training, like doctors and medical students, respiratory therapists and even first responders like firefighters."