Regional Anesthesia Simulator for Training of Resident and Staff Pain Management Specialists

Survivable trauma to the extremities has become an increasingly common occurrence in the battlefield with the use of improved body armor and improvised explosive devices by the enemy. These injuries require both prompt and longterm treatment. Regional anesthesia offers several advantages in these circumstances: immediate analgesia and postoperative pain control, prolonged sympathetic blockade that may increase regional blood flow to the injured tissue, and pre-emptive analgesia that minimizes the occurrence of phantom limb syndrome if the injured extremity subsequently require amputation. However, many anesthesiologists and nurse anesthetists have only limited experience in regional anesthesia. At present the only methods for training in regional anesthesia or regional blocks for pain management are using a living human patient or lightly embalmed cadavers in a fresh tissue laboratory as no realistic workable simulators are available. We propose to develop a small footprint, hybrid simulator with active and passive hapticsusing advanced materials and novel,low-cost sensors. Our approach will permit low cost training in a variety of regional anesthetic techniques with nerve stimulation and ultrasound guidance to ensure maximum success. Our Phase I proposal has three objectives: 1. To develop a design document for a prototype regional anesthesia trainer; 2. Develop prototypes where appropriate to demonstrate technical feasibility; 3. Establish performance metrics and determine a method to validate the effectiveness of the simulator in training combat medics, EMTs, anesthesiologists, nurse anesthetists, and physicians in pain medicine.