While healthcare simulation educators have been challenged to find new, innovative ways to reach learners during the coronavirus pandemic, they have also struggled to ensure these methods are as realistic as possible. This includes ensuring that patient diversity exists across healthcare simulators, medical simulation modules and other means of virtual learning. With this mind, MedVision has helped to promote diversity across the field of clinical simulation through development of the company’s customizable adult patient simulator, Leonardo. This human patient simulator is capable of being produced in a variety of skin tones to help create the most high-fidelity simulation experiences possible.
With the chaos of COVID-19 affecting every aspect of our lives, you may have missed the recent industry buzz about an Asian healthcare simulation company turning the world of high-fidelity medical simulators upside down. But for over 10 years, MedVision has continued the advancement of educational excellence in quality healthcare through the development of advanced medical simulation patient manikins — just mostly outside the United States. But all that is about to change as the company is rapidly expanding globally. Working to deliver customers the training measures needed to improve patient safety outcomes, the company’s Leonardo human patient simulator extends training in basic to advanced medical procedures, clinical team development and patient case management. Today, HealthySimulation.com starts to uncover why some healthcare simulation experts are already calling Leonardo the world’s “best new patient simulator“.
MedVision’s Leonardo Was Utilized By Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Hospital and More
“MedVision approached me in 2018 to work with the Leonardo simulator,” Adam Dodson, NRP, CCEMTP, NCEE, operations and simulation expert, and former Operations Manager at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, said. “I was excited to see a manikin with full articulation of limbs and able to do all the things he could do — without nuts and bolts showing. This made his realism even more significant when compared to others in the market.”
Dodson explained that mass casualty training was very common during 2018 and 2019. After recently leaving the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine simulation program, Dodson recalls using Leonardo for domestic terrorism scenarios and multi-system trauma simulations. Then, when 2020 started and COVID-19 entered the US, the medical school transitioned into studying new ventilators made by vehicle manufacturers and research using splitters. Leonardo’s versatility and capability allowed Dodson to personally complete several tasks other simulators were not capable of doing. He has also used Leonardo with the government, the Department of Defense, and local EMS teams.
“Many of the high-fidelity patient simulators have resistance and compliance capability, but is it realistic? Does it simulate true asthma, air trapping, and reflect realistically on the ETCO2 monitor? Many of them can be put on a ventilator and placed on volume and pressure modes, but can they have realistic PEEP? PEEP greater than 20?” Dodson questioned. “Combine these with other complexities like prone CPR, ARDS protocols, and a library of diagnostic end tidal waveforms and you have a true sick patient. Leonardo can help.”
MedVision’s Leonardo offers extensive functionality, combined with the ability for healthcare educators to utilize their own medical devices. Clinical Simulation champions can craft their own scenarios using MedVision’s intuitive software, or by choosing from many others that have been carefully crafted by MedVision simulation specialists. The goal is that this will enable learners to fully immerse and challenge themselves as they put their individual and team skills to the test in time-critical emergency scenarios.
Dodson added that, although there are a number of “good-looking manikins on the market,” educators need manikins with the ability to be placed on the 50-yard line for practicing rapid sequence intubation procedures. He emphasized the need to be able to provide CPR feedback on pauses and have the appropriate time allotted for treatment. There is also a need to teach some the most common issues in a healthcare environment: lifting and moving of patients and patient falls.
“We need to have the Leonardo patient simulator appear as a burn patient this morning and as a COPD patient after lunch,” Dodson shared. “MedVision has made cleaning him very easy. I know many of the simulators without realistic knee or elbow articulation make it difficult.”
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, Dodson said he is using Leonardo for more respiratory simulations. As the patient simulator has a virtual anesthesia machine and works with all ventilators, the manikin is prepared for high-flow nasal cannula up to the emergency chest tube insertion. Leonardo can also be used to train cold emergencies with a large ECG library, J-Wave and Osborne wave.
Features of MedVision’s Leonardo patient simulator include realistic airways, retrograde intubation, head and jaw mobility, pulmonary aspiration, chest rise and fall, airway obstruction, variable bronchi resistance, needle cricothyrotomy, programmable pupils and more. A bedside monitor is another powerful, flexible, multifunctional feature with intuitive touch-sensitive controls and high-definition graphics that can be used to compliment each training
“I have been working with all simulation companies for more than a decade on getting what we need to help ‘the next patient.’ The customer service at MedVision goes above and beyond, from repair to updates,” Dodson said. “The trainers and patient simulators are always improving and I can tell they really listen to the customer.”
Through MedVision, production localization is as high as 95%, allowing the company to have full control over the whole process. Dodson continued that between MedVision improvements, the solicitation of ideas and quick-acting resolutions, he firmly believes Leonardo can help take healthcare simulation to the next level of utilization.
Other healthcare simulation technicians, who work for a federal organization and requested to be kept anonymous, paralleled Adam’s praise of MedVisions Leonardo to HealthySimulation.com writers, with one saying it was, in his opinion, “the world’s best new high-fidelity patient simulator”.
More About MedVision Healthcare Simulation Solutions
MedVision, which is headquartered in Tampa, Florida, is a global company committed to the advancement of quality education in healthcare through its range of patient and surgical simulators. The company’s designs and leading-edge technologies define a wide range of adult, pediatric, infant and surgical simulators. MedVision employs more than 150 software developers, hardware developers, electronics specialists, quality service and customer service specialists, metalworks, casting and assembly specialists.
The company works with their customers to determine and deliver exact training manikin needs. MedVision is proud to additionally work with healthcare providers to enhance clinical simulation training programs that impact the quality and safety of patient care and help improve outcomes. The healthcare simulation company can swiftly supply any spare part, unit or junction for the simulators, eliminating delay risks when sourcing from external suppliers.