Human Patient Simulator

New in October 2005 to the Academic Health Center is Stan, the Human Patient Simulator (HPS) from Medical Education Technologies, Inc. The Department of Anesthesiology will share the HPS with many departments in the Medical School, as well as other schools and colleges in the AHC, to give students the opportunity to practice patient care until it becomes second nature.

The HPS is a computer-model-driven, full-sized mannequin that delivers a hands-on patient care experience in true-to-life scenarios that can change to meet instructors’ goals. It blinks, speaks and breathes, has a heartbeat and a pulse, and accurately mirrors human responses to such procedures as CPR, intravenous medication, intubation, ventilation, and catheterization. In short, the HPS is a lifelike, easily controlled teaching laboratory.

More features of Stan include:

• Eyes blink and pupils dilate and constrict to light. Stan’s eyes close as anesthesia takes effect and reopen when he regains consciousness.
• Heart beat is audible and can be changed to mimic arrhythmia. If Stan goes into cardiac arrest, students can perform CPR or use defibrillator paddles to shock him back into action.
• Chest rises and falls with every breath. Stand can simulate a collapsed lung, which students can reinflate by inserting a needle. A tube can be inserted into chest so students can practice removing gas trapped in lungs or fluid around the heart.
• Students can discover internal bleeding by inserting a thick needle in bottom of thorax and extracting fluid.
• Pulse can be felt on both wrists, both thighs, behind the knees, and on the tops of both feet.
• IV can be inserted into right arm.
• Genitalia are interchangeable. A catheter can be inserted into the urinary tract to ease flow of fake urine.
• Skin is malleable: soft where it should be soft, hard where it should be hard.

Information regarding Stan courtesy of www.meti.com.