VirtaMed, a provider of immersive training solutions for laparoscopic surgeons, has recently announced that Broward Health Medical Center in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, has become the first US medical institution to receive the VirtaMed LaparoS surgical training simulator, a mixed reality laparoscopic simulator that provides resident doctors with a simulated environment to prepare for clinical practice.
According to VirtaMed, Broward Health will use the LaparoS for general surgery training with an emphasis on patient safety. Commenting on the LaparoS platform, which was first installed in June 2021, Dr. Ivan Puente, General Surgery Program Director at Broward Health Medical Center, said: “We chose the LaparoS because it offers our residents a more realistic simulation of what they will encounter in the operating room. We feel very strongly that this will not only enhance their skill development but also contribute to patient safety.”
The LaparoS training simulator’s training modules are designed to capture the whole procedural preparation, including positioning of the patient and placement of tools. The simulator offers real-time learning in the form of haptic feedback, complication training and guided procedures.
Features of the platform include:
- Realistic laparoscopic instruments that have been adapted for simulation and combine full freedom of movement with authentic haptic interactions;
- An anatomically correct abdomen model that can be used for appropriate positioning for respective training cases;
- A choice of different entry portals that enables trainees to learn instrument handling with different trocar placement;
- Advanced tissue feedback that gives users the sense of touching, lifting and applying tension to simulated organs and tissues;
- Virtual organs that move individually and in real time;
- Optimized for ergonomic training with an adjustable operative height and a movable multi-touch screen;
- Condensed sequences that teach key skills in realistic anatomical environments; and
- Motivational learning modules with proficiency-based progression.
“Simulation is a great way to enhance medical skills,” said Kimberly Mazili, Business Development Manager for VirtaMed. “Broward Hospital Medical Center has already had years of success with our orthopedics simulator. It was a logical step for Broward to be the first to get our new LaparoS so they could extend the capacity of their simulation center and their residency programs.”
Broward Health Medical Center provides its medical students access to a medical skills simulation lab with a variety of simulators, including the VirtaMed ArthroS simulator for arthroscopic skills training. The addition of the LaparoS expands the resources available for skills development in a risk-free training environment.
The medical center also recently hosted a VirtaMedEd training day for residents in general surgery, orthopedics and gynecology. Using simulators supplied by Broward Health’s Simulation Center and VirtaMed, the training day provided residents with an opportunity to practice instrument usage and specific procedures in a risk-free training environment.
For more information on VirtaMed’s medical simulation training solutions, please visit the company’s website.
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Image / video credit: VirtaMed / YouTube