Project Grant R43EB032750

ADVANCED HAPTICS SIMULATION PLATFORM FOR IMPROVED NURSE SKILLS - ABSTRACT ARCHIEMD PROPOSES DEVELOPING AN ADVANCED HAPTICS SIMULATION PLATFORM FOR IMPROVED NURSE SKILLS TRAINING FOR PERIPHERAL INTRAVENOUS (IV) INSERTION AND NASOGASTRIC TUBE (NGT) PROCEDURES. THERE IS A SIGNIFICANT GAP BETWEEN THEORETICAL AND PRACTICAL NURSING EDUCATION PROGRAMS, MAKING FOR A DIFFICULT TRANSITION FROM EDUCATION TO WORK ENVIRONMENTS. NURSING PROGRAMS HAVE LONG RELIED ON LOW- AND HIGH-FIDELITY MANIKINS, WHICH VARY FROM SIMPLY REPLICAS OF HUMAN BEINGS/BODY PARTS WITH LIMITED TO NO DISTINGUISHING FEATURES TO COMPARATIVE HUMAN MODELS WITH ADJUSTABLE PHYSIOLOGICAL TRAITS. HOWEVER, MANIKINS CAN BE LIMITED IN THEIR EFFECTIVENESS IN PROVIDING DIVERSE PATIENT SCENARIOS OR MEETING THE REQUIREMENTS FOR CONCEPTUAL, PHYSICAL, AND EMOTIONAL/PSYCHOLOGICAL FIDELITY THAT WILL ENSURE THAT PATIENT SIMULATION IS ACCURATE. TASK TRAINING MANIKINS, SUCH AS THOSE USED TO TEACH IV AND NG PLACEMENT, LACK LIVE TISSUE FIDELITY, WHICH COULD BE SIGNIFICANTLY ENHANCED WITH HAPTIC TECHNOLOGY. FURTHER, MANIKINS ALONE CANNOT PROVIDE REAL-TIME VISUALIZATION OF INTERNAL ANATOMY AND A LIMITED CAPACITY TO SIMULATE COMPLICATIONS FROM INCORRECT DEVICE PLACEMENT. THE EMERGENCE OF SIMULATION-BASED MODELS FOR MEDICAL EDUCATION ADDRESSES THE NEED FOR REQUIRED SKILL DEVELOPMENT OF HEALTHCARE TRAINEES, INCLUDING MANIKIN TRAINING, VIRTUAL REALITY, AND INTERACTIVE MEDICAL SIMULATION SOFTWARE. THE USE OF NURSE TRAINING SIMULATIONS IN A BLENDED LEARNING ENVIRONMENT HAS BEEN REPORTED TO LOWER THE NUMBER OF IV INSERTION ATTEMPTS AND REDUCE IV-RELATED COMPLICATIONS ON SUBSEQUENT PATIENTS. TO IMPROVE THIS FORM OF EDUCATION, ARCHIEMD WILL PROVIDE NURSES WITH IMMERSIVE HAPTIC TRAINING SIMULATIONS TO HELP THEM PRACTICE AND ACQUIRE SKILLS AND GAIN CONFIDENCE IN PERFORMING PERIPHERAL IV AND NGT INSERTION. BY INTEGRATING VISUAL 3D COMPUTER MODELS WITH A GAME ENGINE AND HAPTICS, ARCHIEMD WILL PROVIDE AN IMMERSIVE VIRTUAL REALITY (VR) TRAINING ENVIRONMENT FOR NURSING STUDENTS. THIS WILL OFFER A NEW MODALITY FOR SIMULATION TRAINING, WITH THE ABILITY TO PROVIDE FORCE OR TACTILE FEEDBACK THAT SIMULATES A VIRTUAL OBJECT'S PHYSICAL SUBSTRATE. HAPTICS TECHNOLOGY AND COMPUTER-GENERATED IMAGERY CAN SIMULATE INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL ANATOMY, ENHANCE NURSE TRAINING ACTIVITIES, AND SUCCESSFULLY TRANSFER SIMULATOR- ACQUIRED SKILLS TO REAL-WORLD APPLICATIONS. THE PROPOSED TECHNOLOGY WILL PROMOTE IMPROVED LEARNING THROUGH BOTH "HANDS-ON" CLINICAL EDUCATION AND ENSURE PATIENT FIDELITY. THE PHASE I RESEARCH EFFORT WILL BE COMPRISED OF TWO AIMS: 1) DEVELOP SIMULATIONS FOR IV INSERTION AND NGT PROCEDURES, INCORPORATING 3D COMPUTER MODELS AND A STYLUS WITH HAPTIC FEEDBACK, AND 2) CARRY OUT A USER STUDY TO EVALUATE THE HAPTIC SIMULATIONS' PERFORMANCE IN TRANSFERRING PERIPHERAL IV AND NGT INSERTION SKILLS. THE HAPTICS TECHNOLOGY DESIGNED HERE WILL SUPPORT IMMERSIVE SIMULATION TRAINING, ALLOWING NURSING EDUCATION PROGRAMS TO SUPPLEMENT LECTURE- OR OBSERVATION-BASED TRAINING OR REPLACE CURRENT TASK TRAINER MANIKINS. THESE EASILY ACCESSED TRAINING SIMULATIONS WILL RESULT IN IMPROVED CLINICAL SKILLS AND, ULTIMATELY, BETTER PATIENT CARE.