A regional showcase for medical education, the 5,000-square-foot Applebaum Simulation Learning Institute is located on the third floor of the south tower of the Hospital in Royal Oak.
Surgical skills and tissue lab
The Center features a surgical skills and tissue lab where up to 40 surgeons-in-training can practice individual and group surgical skills. Physicians can build psychomotor capabilities using minimally invasive surgical techniques such as laparoscopy and endoscopy. They can rehearse technical skills ranging from simple suturing to complex neurosurgery. Flat-panel TV screens and a two-way communication system enable participants to view and interact with doctors worldwide.
Full-scale mock operating rooms
Two fully operational mock operating rooms are the centerpiece of the facility. One room is equipped with electronic, programmable patient simulators that allow hands-on training in medical emergencies and techniques without risk to an actual patient.
The second room provides training using a $1 million da Vinci robot for procedures that are less invasive and allow faster recovery than conventional surgery.
The 450-square-foot, state-of-the-art ORs replicate an actual environment with
- state-of-the-art monitoring
- operating room tables
- lighting and gas lines
- anesthesia machines
- supply and pharmacy Pyxis machines
- fire alarms and electrical circuit shutoffs to simulate disasters
- digital recorders and camera systems
Each room also accommodates minimally invasive endoscopic equipment and surgical simulators.
A moveable glass wall joins the OR to the surgical skills lab to permit observation of clinical scenarios in action or allow interaction between the two facilities.
Control rooms
A control room situated between the two ORs allows instructors to manage the learning environment. From the control room, instructors can
- View teaching sessions through one-way glass
- Communicate with individual team members or the entire OR
- Program and monitor patient simulators
- Simulate disasters, such as fires or power outages, complete with alarms and flashing lights
Using microphones, cameras and AV feeds, all teaching sessions are recorded and stored for later debriefing.
Human physiologic simulators
In the SLC, medical professionals in a variety of fields learn clinical procedures using adult, pediatric and infant patient simulators. These lifelike models can be configured to represent healthy or unhealthy patients of any age or gender.
The simulators display vital parameters such as
- temperature
- brain electrical pulses
- heart rate
- arterial blood pressure
- central venous and pulmonary artery pressure
They can be programmed in real time with an unlimited combination of clinical symptoms and physiologic responses
- breathing
- heart sounds
- pulse readings
- drug reactions
- how they accept and react to mask or mechanical ventilation, intubation, drug injections and IV infusions
Classroom
A 50-seat classroom is equipped with the latest multimedia and video conferencing equipment that can transmit and receive teleconferences from locations around the globe. To enhance the learning experience, the classroom is also linked directly to operating rooms for both audio and visual two-way communication.
Other equipment
The Institute also has available equipment that includes
- AED training products and remote-controlled trainer
- arterial and venous training arms
- autoscoring mirror tracer
- breast assessment model
- central venous access tissue module
- central venous cannulation simulator, and bone and muscle replacement kit
- femoral access model
- germ city
- IV access arm model
- laerdal sim modules for ACLS and nursing
- Pediatric AED defibrillation pads
- Suturing equipment and models