Telemedicine and Advanced Medical Technology - Refined Training Tools for Medical Readiness

This project will develop a standard methodology that the U.S. military and others can use to evaluate the training efficacy of medical simulators. Both virtual and manikin simulators for training essential life-saving procedures, including IV insertionand airway intubation, will be assessed using this methodology during the Phase II period. A major objective of the Phase II project will be the validation of SimQuest's MedicTrainerTM needle insertion simulator for training IV procedural skills. At theconclusion of the Phase II project period, the methodology will be available as a software prototype for the validation of medical simulation, and provide a mechanism to measure skills decay over time, testing different strategies to slow decay within thecontext of combat medic training and the existing medic training curriculum. The software tool will also contain guidelines for companies and other developers who want to design and develop simulation-based trainers in medicine. It is expected that thedevelopment of a standard technical approach for the validation of computer-based simulators will provide tremendous benefit to medical trainers in the military, by assuring a reliable and robust way to measure the value of simulation for training specificmedic skills and procedures. The ability to deliver a robust and scientifically valid methodology for evaluation of medical simulators, developed in the context of the proposed STTR project, will provide tremendous value to the U.S. military, who is theworld's largest purchaser of computer-based simulators for medic training. A software product that can be used for simulator validation and verification, as well as design and development, should find a large, waiting marketplace. In the military, thereare almost 100,000 medical personnel who can benefit from training. Enlisted medical personnel such as medics and corpsmen, are now being asked to perform life-saving surgical methods. The emergence of the 91W combat medic requires advanced life-savingskills training, and these are expected to eventually require paramedic skills. Almost 27,000 91W combat medics will require certification, and SimQuest's medical simulators can be used to train and assess the performance of these individuals. In thecivilian sector, there are 122,569 state-licensed paramedics (EMT-P), 501,584 individuals licensed at the EMT-Basic (EMT-B) level and 45,009 at the EMT-I (Intermediate) level.