ULTRASOUND MENTOR TRAINING SIMULATOR REPLACES STANDARDIZED PATIENTS AT CONFERENCE

Live patients unavailable during the pandemic, Simbionix simulator ideal solution to support virtual pediatric heart event

The Challenge

St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children hosted the 4th Annual Pediatric Update: Heart Care for the Young conference with the theme, “From Fetus to Young Adult with Acquired and Congenital Heart Disease.” This year the conference was virtual with sessions throughout the day being livestreamed from the Angelo M. DiGeorge Teaching Center in Philadelphia, PA.  CME credit was awarded to attendees.

Several of the speakers planned to have live patients during their sessions but the pandemic prevented the resources that they requested.  Affected sessions included, “Echocardiography in NICU” with Shuping Ge, MD, “Echocardiography in ED and ICU” with James Starc, MD, and “Echocardiography for the unborn” with Jie Sun, MD, PhD.

The Solution

Surgical Science proudly supported the program with the Simbionix Ultrasound Mentor. The realism of the training simulator coupled with the wide range of modules and cases provided the ideal standardized patient replacement.

Drs. Shuping Ge, James Starc, and Jie Sun used the Ultrasound Mentor during their presentations, showing the different views that they use in pediatric cases.  Modules utilized included Advanced Echo, Bedside Echo, and Fetal Echo.  The sessions allowed the participants to see a demonstration of the topics covered with views of the physician’s hands on the simulator, as well as visuals of the procedures shown on the screen.

The Advantage

Simbionix simulators have always provided a standardized patient alternative for many medical specialties.  This solution has never been timelier than during the COVID-19 pandemic.  Additional simulation benefits include the ability to demonstrate a wide range of pathologies, cases, and procedures in a safe environment.  This was certainly the case during the virtual conference held at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children.