2008/2009 academic year design project offered by the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering for final year students.

Project 6: Patient Simulator Development
Project Manager: Professor D.L. Russell

This will be the fourth year of a multi-year project aimed at advancing the capabilities and technology used in patient simulators. A patient simulator is a physical representation of a human body that mimics specific medical conditions and pathologies to allow those training in various medical professions to practice their skills as individuals and as members of a medical team. Patient simulators are currently used in medical schools, teaching hospitals and by the military and are manufactured by a number of companies in Canada and around the world. As with other simulators, the goal is to place the people working with the device in situations where their responses to the scenarios in which they find themselves are real.

Current devices mimic many situations, including airway management, anesthesiology, and heart problems. However, there are many opportunities to both improve existing capabilities and add new features to these devices. Our particular emphasis is on the look and feel of the device. Current devices are made of hard plastic that has a rigid, artificial appearance and the temperature of the surrounding room. Addressing issues such as these or others identified by the project team will greatly improve the reality of the scenarios presented to those training on the device. The work in the next year of the project will involve further development of prototypes of various full-scale components of a simulator, particularly the development of a responsive abdominal surface and lifelike movements of the torso and limbs This work will involve collaboration with local hospitals, including the Ottawa Heart Institute which has two full body simulators and the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario.

If you have any questions, please contact the Project Manager, or you may contact the departmental office at (613) 520-5684.