Customize Consent Preferences

We use cookies to help you navigate efficiently and perform certain functions. You will find detailed information about all cookies under each consent category below.

The cookies that are categorized as "Necessary" are stored on your browser as they are essential for enabling the basic functionalities of the site. ... 

Always Active

Necessary cookies are required to enable the basic features of this site, such as providing secure log-in or adjusting your consent preferences. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable data.

No cookies to display.

Functional cookies help perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collecting feedback, and other third-party features.

No cookies to display.

Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics such as the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.

No cookies to display.

Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.

No cookies to display.

Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with customized advertisements based on the pages you visited previously and to analyze the effectiveness of the ad campaigns.

No cookies to display.

Wetenschap

Simulation and serious gaming prepare medics for real life cases

Knowing how to remove an appendix is one thing: actually doing it is another, requiring skills that can only be gained through practical experience. But new Medical Simulation and Serious Gaming technology can replicate ‘real patients in real situations’ giving medics a much-needed extra opportunity to improve their practical skills.

‘Tough (T)issues in Medical Simulation’ was the theme of this year’s conference of the Dutch Society for Simulation in Healthcare (DSSH) held at TU Delft earlier this week. “Medical Simulation,” explained Congress President, Dr. Gabriëlle Tuijthof, “is any simulated environment that contributes to training of medical skills, mostly focussed on skills that can’t be learnt from books.” That can mean anything from how trauma care teams interact during emergencies to surgical skills to giving an injection or physical examination.

The conference brought together medical professionals with game developers, educational specialists, psychologists, and engineers – everyone with an interest in improving the practical side of medical training which, it seems, needs improvement. “We have evidence,” said Tuijthof, “that the first five to eight patients in an operating theatre with a new resident doctor are at risk because doctors often get their practical training on real patients. But if the doctor has already had simulated training, and achieved a basic level of motor skills, then the risks are reduced.”

The many technical developments on show at the congress included ‘fake patients’ that can ‘breathe’ so people can practice resuscitation. Two companies also showcased 3D simulators for training in keyhole surgery based on TU Delft research. In addition there was a ‘serious game’ worn on the healing wrist of a patient who can score points by steering either a shark or a penguin through a watery world by making the appropriate side-to-side or up-and-down movements, so exercising his wrist in a medically approved manner.

And the “Tough (T)issues” referred to in the theme? “That relates to tough tissues, like cartilage and bone, that are more difficult to manipulate,” explained Tuijthof. “It’s important to try and replicate the ‘feel’ of knee or shoulder surgery, for example, so that the simulation not only looks and moves realistically, but also feels real.”

Redacteur Redactie

Heb je een vraag of opmerking over dit artikel?

delta@tudelft.nl

Comments are closed.