Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
The latest thing in medical training technology is SimMan, a mannequin simulator that is as close to a real human being as a mannequin can get.
Dr. Linda Law, M.D., medical director of the Emergency Department at Kosciusko Community Hospital, held a demonstration of the mannequin with Medical Plastics Laboratory account executive Gary Althaus at KCH Friday. Together with Laerdal Medical Corp., MPL developed this realistic patient simulator to keep up skills and training for all medical personnel.
"It's as real as you can get currently on the market," said Law. "It's just way above anything we've ever had."
Currently none of these mannequins are in use in Indiana. According to Law, KCH is applying for grants to purchase one. One mannequin costs $28,000, said Althaus. They are manufactured in Gatesville, Texas, and the companies produce five mannequins a day. They already have 60 orders to fill. There are only 10 mannequins in use in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Law said the mannequin will benefit the whole community as well as all medical personnel.
The mannequin is so unique, Law said, is because it can simulate a real person. It has a pulse, respiratory rate and bowel sounds that can be programmed to any medical or emergency scenario.
EMS coordinator Carla Gebert said the problem with the current mannequins is that they never change and they have no actual human vital signs. SimMan is programmed to change with each situation so it can be used for competency testing and to validate that medical personnel know what they are doing.
SimMan comes with a Windows-based interactive software package and remote control. It can be hooked up to any of the hospital's equipment, including X-rays, and can record the same readings as a human being. It also can be set to respond to a variety of interventions and to have normal or abnormal responses to the treatments, depending on what the mannequin operator wishes.
SimMan comes with extra modules for the body showing different wounds, such as impaled objects, fractures, first-, second- and third-degree burns, bullet wounds and various lacerations.
