Methods and apparatus for providing realistic medical training

• US 8,382,485 B2
• Filed: 09/28/2006
• Issued: 02/26/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 09/29/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The General Hospital Corporation (Mass General Brigham, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: The General Hospital Corporation (Mass General Brigham, Inc.)
• Inventors: Bardsley, Ryan Scott, Ottensmeyer, Mark Peter, Samosky, Joseph Thomas, Dawson, Steven L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Utama, Robert J
• Application Number:
  US12/067,260
• Publication Number:
  US 20080227073A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,343 Days
• Field of Search: 434/267
• US Class Current: 434/262
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 23/30 Anatomical models G09B23/281 - G09B23/288 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 23/32 with moving parts
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 23/34 with removable parts

Abstract

Method and apparatus to provide simulation of a human casualty. In one embodiment an autonomous casualty simulator includes a processing module having a scenario progression controller and a physiological modeling system to receive sensor input and to control effectors. The autonomous casualty simulator can be contained in a nominal human mannequin form.

Claims

1. A medical training system, comprising:

a human mannequin;

a central processor in the mannequin, the processor being configured to receive input;

a multidimensional lookup table stored in a memory, the multidimensional lookup table relating inputs from a plurality of sensors to outputs including cardinal physiological status values;

a physiological modeling system coupled to the central processor to control physiological responses of the training system for simulating responses of a human to trauma, wherein the physiological modeling system includes a plurality of effectors, and the central processor is configured to;

determine a current physiological state using a selected trauma sequence, and a time duration since an initiation of the selected trauma sequence,

receive an input value from at least one of the plurality of sensors,

interpret the input value using the multidimensional lookup table to determine a new physiological state, and

use at least one of the plurality of effectors to generate a physiological response, wherein the physiological response is at least partially determined by the new physiological state and includes at least one of clenching a jaw of the human mannequin, modifying a tone of a muscle of the human mannequin, simulating signs of a tonic-clonic seizure, and rolling back a pair of eyes of the human mannequin; and

wherein the human mannequin includes a support structure corresponding to a human skeleton, wherein the support structure articulates at joints including neck, cervical spine, lumbar spine, shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips, knees, and ankles, wherein the central processor is configured to modify a resistance of at least one of the joints of the support structure based upon the new physiological state.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the system is self-contained within the mannequin.

3. The system according to claim 1, wherein the system can operate autonomously outside of the line-of-sight of an operator or instructor.

4. The system according to claim 1, wherein the input value from the at least one of the plurality of sensors includes a total blood volume, an administered intravenous fluid volume, or a bronchial air flow rate.

5. The system according to claim 1, wherein the physiological response includes at least one of modifying a heart rate and modifying a blood pressure.

6. The system according to claim 1, wherein the multidimensional lookup table includes a representation of a nonlinear physiological system behavior.

7. The system according to claim 1, wherein the physiological modeling system includes a pulmonary system to generate clinical signs for enabling diagnosis of hemothorax, tension pneumothorax, or collapsed lung.

8. The system according to claim 1, wherein the mannequin simulates unconscious and conscious states.

9. The system according to claim 1, wherein the neck joint includes at least one stiffening rod, the at least one stiffening rod being selectively insertable through at least one cervical disk connected to the neck joint to control a stiffness of the neck joint.

10. The system according to claim 9, wherein the neck joint includes at least two air muscles, and a movement of the neck joint is achieved by selectively actuating at least one of the at least two air muscles.

11. The system according to claim 1, wherein the physiological modeling system includes a hemorrhage system configured to simulate pulsatile arterial blood flow, bone marrow seepage, or soft tissue bleeding.

12. The system according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of sensors includes a sensor to measure fluid input from a intravenous fluid input.

13. The system according to claim 12, further including a module to determine hemodilution.

14. The system according to claim 1, wherein the physiological responses includes vital signs including heart rate, heart rhythm, respiratory rate, respiratory depth, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and level of consciousness.

15. The system according to claim 1, further including medic RF-ID capability, GPS coordinate functionality, and time-of-day stamping.

16. The system according to claim 1, wherein the physiological modeling system includes a venous system configured to receive an intravenous (IV) fluid to which the system responds based upon the amount or type of IV fluid.

22. The system according to claim 1, further comprising an integrated teaching system coupled to the physiological modeling system, wherein the integrated teaching system is configured to:

receive the physiological responses and the inputs from the plurality of sensors; and

determine whether appropriate medical interventions are being performed by an operator interacting with the human mannequin based on the physiological responses and the inputs from the plurality of sensors.

23. The system according to claim 22, wherein the integrated teaching system is further configured to provide performance feedback and teaching content to the operator.

24. The system according to claim 23, wherein the integrated teaching system is further configured to modify the selected trauma sequence and the performance feedback based on a skill level of the operator.

25. The system according to claim 24, wherein the integrated teaching system is further configured to determine the skill level of the operator by receiving data from an identification tag carried by the operator.

17. A medical training system, comprising:

a human mannequin including a support structure corresponding to a human skeleton;

a central processor in the mannequin, the processor being configured to receive input from a plurality of sensors;

a physiological modeling system coupled to the central processor to control physiological responses of the training system, the physiological modeling system being configured to;

determine a current physiological state,

receive an input value from at least one of the plurality of sensors,

interpret an input value from a sensor to determine a new physiological state, and

modify a resistance of at least one of a plurality of joints of the support structure based upon the new physiological state to simulate at least one of a generalized seizure and body stiffening.

18. The system according to claim 17, wherein the support structure includes a neck joint, and the neck joint includes at least one stiffening rod, the at least one stiffening rod being selectively insertable through at least one cervical disk connected to the neck joint to control a stiffness of the neck joint.

19. The system according to claim 17, wherein the support structure includes a neck joint, and the neck joint includes at least two air muscles, and a movement of the neck joint is achieved by selectively actuating at least one of the at least two air muscles.

20. A method of providing medical training using a human mannequin, comprising:

determining a current physiological state using a selected trauma sequence, and a time duration since an initiation of the selected trauma sequence;

receiving an input value from at least one of a plurality of sensors connected to the human mannequin;

interpreting the input value using a multidimensional lookup table to determine a new physiological state, the multidimensional lookup table relating inputs from a plurality of sensors to outputs including cardinal physiological status values; and

using at least one of the plurality of effectors connected to the human mannequin to generate a physiological response, wherein the physiological response is at least partially determined by the new physiological state.

21. The method of claim 20, including modifying a resistance of at least one of a plurality of joints of a support structure of the human mannequin based upon the new physiological state.