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Emergency Medicine and Surgical Decision Making -
The Pioneering Transatlantic Course
Using High-Fidelity Patient Simulation
2003-01-20
The uses of High-Fidelity Patient Simulators have been expanded through
the highly innovative training program developed by MedSMART and the Italian
group from the Department of Surgery at the School of Medicine at the
University of L’Aquila, Italy, led by Francesco Gabbrielli, M.D.
During the course, final year medical students of the L’Aquila School
of Medicine were trained in the management of trauma emergencies that
require rapid surgical decision making and perisurgical patient management.
The fully interactive course was based on the combination of remote, interactive
access to a High-Fidelity Human Patient Simulator located in Ann Arbor,
MI, and the extensive use of multimedia resources providing real-time
physiological responses of the traumatized patient with all data necessary
for diagnosis, surgical procedure management, and management of unsuspected
perisurgical crises.
The course was given over three months with two biweekly sessions of
2 hours each. The telecommunications backbone was provided free of charge
by the Telecom Italia-owned SSGRR and its International Business and Training
Division under the direction of Dr. Fredric Patricelli and Digital Realm,
a U.S.-based advanced telecommunications company in Ann Arbor, MI. Laerdal
USA provided the High-Fidelity Patient Simulators used during training.
Comparison of the historical data from didactic training without simulation
with the initial data obtained during the course indicates that, similar
to a previous transatlantic training that concentrated on medical emergencies,
both the knowledge acquisition rate and increase in medical efficiency
rate were significantly enhanced through simulation-based distance training.
No equivalent medical student education has been ever offered prior to
the present course.
In addition to its educational merits, overcoming significant challenges
of distance, language barriers, and differences in U.S. and Italian conceptual
approaches to trauma management are among the most notable successes of
the effort. Training as represented by the present course is of particular
significance for the global community of healthcare practitioners active
in rural and remote regions. It provides them with ready access to the
most advanced training tools (interactive High-Fidelity Patient Simulation),
access to high-level medical training experts, and, with appropriate use,
may serve as an important tool in improving quality of health care in
countries with limited resources that cannot afford implementation of
advanced technology tools in medical education and postgraduate medical
learning.
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Fiberoptic
intubation training between MedSMART in Ann Arbor, MI and L'Aquila,
Italy. |
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Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) training.
Split screen view as seen by the Italian students. |
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Expert trainer in Ann Arbor, MI interacting with the students in Italy.
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AFTER SEVEN YEARS, DAG VON LUBITZ RETIRES FROM MedSMART
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Ann Arbor, MI; The Chairman and Chief Scientist of MedSMART, Dr. Dag von Lubitz, retires from his active involvement with the company on the 1st April 2008. Under the leadership of von Lubitz, the company pioneered simulation-based advanced distributed learning (ADL), and subsequently deployed worldwide several routine education/training programs aimed at 1st Responders and medical personnel working in field, pre- and in-hospital settings. MedSMART also pioneered distributed, global-access simulation-based training for medical military personnel, and was the first to employ the concept of Medical Application Service Provider (MedASP) in multinational, transatlantic training in counter-bioterrorism measures. Von Lubitz transformed the company from a leading-edge, simulation-based training organization delivering worldwide educational content to an international think-tank devoted to the analysis of advanced technology and delivery platforms in medical training, homeland security, and disaster management operations. During his tenure at MedSMART, von Lubitz was the first to introduce then apply the principles of network-centric operations in non-military activities. Selected publications that present MedSMART's operations conducted during the period of his association with the company are accessible at this web-site (see Publications link). Von Lubitz will continue his association with the company as a consulting scientist. Mr. Howard Levine, B.Eng., will act as the Interim Chairman of MedSMART. Laureate of City of Laval Prize in Technology, Mr. Levine serves currently as the Executive Vice President and Director of Operations at Digital Realm, Inc, a highly successful next-generation company specializing in broadband internet access and data, video telephony and video delivery service over IP networks. Following education at the University of Michigan and a career as a cameraman in several feature films, Mr. Levine concentrated on the development of interactive e-commerce Web-based systems for some of the major companies in the USA. Mr. Levine played a critical role in the development of telemedicine systems at the University of Michigan. In addition to his leadership functions at Digital Realm, Mr. Levine is actively involved in the development of new methods in simulation-based distance medical education, and in the development of telemedical telecommunication platforms suitable for use in the Third World and in other technologically impoverished regions of the globe. Mr. Levine is the co-author of several peer-reviewed papers devoted to these topics.
Under direction of Howard, MedSMART will continue on its path of innovation and change initiated by von Lubitz.
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The uses of High-Fidelity Patient Simulators have been expanded through the highly innovative training program developed by MedSMART and the Italian group from the Department of Surgery at the School of Medicine at the University of L'Aquila, Italy, led by Francesco Gabbrielli, M.D. During the course, final year medical students of the L'Aquila School of Medicine were trained in the management of trauma emergencies that require rapid surgical decision making and perisurgical patient management.
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MedSMART and the College of Health Professions at Central Michigan University (CMU) conducted the first ever distance-based simulation refresher course for First Responders. The main purpose of the program - founded on the simulation-based principles championed and extensively tested by MedSMART - was to provide analysis of logistical issues pertinent to the routine training of U.S. prehospital personnel in the combined environment of High-Fidelity Patient Simulation, Advanced Distributed Learning (ADL) and Distributed Interactive Simulation (DIS).
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| Nobel Laureate, World-Renowned
E-Learning Expert, and Citrix E-Ambassador
Join MedSMART Board.
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| The international commitee of jurors awarded
the Laval Virtuel Prize in Medicine and the City of Laval Prize
to MedSMART for the use of simulation and IT technologies in
distance education and training in medicine. Considered the
equivalent of the golden palm at the Cannes film festival, the
International Laval Virtuel Prize is awarded for achievement
in virtual reality and information technology. The City of Laval
Prize is awarded for the international impact and significance
of the project.
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Laerdal, Inc. assists MedSMART in creation of a new concept in simulation-based medical education and training.
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MedSMART offers its unique training capability
as a part of the national volunteer effort to assist national
authorities in search and rescue efforts in New York
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MedSMART is proud to announce Dr. Oleg Orlov
as the new member of the company's Board of Trustees. Dr. Orlov,
a member of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences and the
Director of the Russian Telemedicine Foundation, joined the
Board in September 2001.
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MedSMART and Digital Realm, Inc. are proud
to announce their partnership in developing new solutions to
the problem of training large numbers of dispersed medical personnel
using remote access to Human Patient Simulators
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MedSMART, Inc. is pleased to announce the premiere
of www.med-smart.org
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A remotely controlled Human Patient Simulator
located at the facilities of MedSMART, Inc. in Ann Arbor, MI,
was used to train personnel in L'Aquila, Italy in execution
of life-saving emergency medical procedures
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