From AM1500:
The mannequins in Ridgewater College’s SimLab L1 are ready to bleed, vomit or give birth, all on command.
The three life-size mannequins _ a man, a pregnant woman and a baby _ are the stars of the college’s mobile simulation training lab, which was unveiled recently on the Willmar campus. The lab will be available to provide onsite training to health care providers throughout the area. It includes an emergency room and a control room/debriefing room.
Equipment in the lab is state-of-the-art, including the mannequins.
There’s the baby Hal, who can cry, grunt and turn blue. He has interchangeable parts, so he can be a boy or a girl.
There’s Noelle, the pregnant mannequin, who can give birth 20 different ways and even have a C-section. “When her water breaks, it really breaks,” said Ron Flannigan, director of SimLab.
And there’s the male mannequin, 3G, who is currently away getting a technology upgrade. Until he’s ready, the manufacturer provided a fellow named SimMan as a stand-in.
With the help of prerecorded conversations or a microphone in the control room, the mannequins can interact with their caregivers, said mobile simulation specialist Jim Bode.
With the right preparation, they’ll produce all manner of bodily fluids when the computer system tells them to, adding realism to simulations. The mannequins will react to the treatment given, so participants will influence how well the mannequins fare during a session.
Flannigan said the simulations are useful for continuing education for health care and emergency professionals and for training students in paramedic and nursing programs.
Filed under: Uncategorized
