CHS: Medium: Physical-Virtual Patient Bed for Healthcare Training and Assessment

飞行模拟器为飞行员提供了在各种情况下安全练习驾驶各种飞机的机会。同样，人类患者模拟器为护士和医生提供了在广泛的患者和场景中进行医疗保健的安全机会。虚拟患者模拟器使用计算机图形来呈现人类的一系列视觉特征，包括医学症状、个性、种族和性别。然而，它们本质上是虚拟的--从业者不能用手操纵它们。另一方面，基于人体模型的患者模拟器本质上是物理的，包括具有真实皮肤的人体大小和生理症状的机电模拟。他们提供了一种“动手”的体验，但呈现视觉特征的能力非常有限。此外，医学教育工作者越来越注重人际交往技能和文化能力，因为这些影响着提供者与患者的关系、诊断和治疗。该项目的研究人员正在开发一种物理-虚拟患者床(PVPB)，它结合了虚拟患者的灵活性和人体模型的物理特性。PVPB将使用动态计算机图形后向投影到安装在真实医院病床上的身体形状的外壳上，以及各种传感器和执行器，以创建一个患者模拟器，该模拟器可以说话；看起来会出汗、呼吸和蠕动；显示脉搏；感觉身体各个部位的温暖/寒冷；以及对人类或医疗器械的触摸做出反应。它将能够在飞行中改变种族、性别和视觉上明显的症状，并将通过真正的人类机构展示真正的人类情感复杂性。研究人员将评估PVPB在模拟某些条件方面的有效性，并利用它来发展关于各种患者线索的相对重要性的新知识，以及患者人口统计引起的提供者偏见。

Flight simulators offer pilots a chance to safely practice flying a wide range of aircraft in a variety of scenarios. Similarly, human patient simulators offer nurses and physicians safe opportunities to practice healthcare on a wide range of patients and scenarios. Virtual patient simulators use computer graphics to render humans with a range of visual characteristics including medical symptoms, personality, race, and gender. However, they are inherently virtual--practitioners cannot manipulate them with their hands. Manikin-based patient simulators on the other hand are inherently physical, comprising human-sized bodies with realistic skin and electro-mechanical simulation of physiological symptoms. They afford a "hands on" experience but are very limited in their ability to present visual characteristics. Furthermore, medical educators are increasingly focusing on interpersonal skills and cultural competency, as these impact provider-patient relationships, diagnoses, and treatments. Manikins do not afford the associated humanistic traits.The researchers on this project are developing a Physical-Virtual Patient Bed (PVPB) that combines the flexibility of virtual patients with the physicality of manikins. The PVPB will employ dynamic computer graphics rear-projected onto a body-shaped shell mounted in a real hospital bed, along with various sensors and actuators, to create a patient simulator that talks; appears to sweat, breathe, and squirm; exhibits a pulse; feels warm/cold on various body parts; and responds to touch by humans or medical instruments. It will be able to change race, gender, and visually-apparent symptoms on the fly, and will exhibit real human emotional complexity via real human agency. The researchers will assess the effectiveness of the PVPB in simulating certain conditions, and use it to develop new knowledge about the relative importance of various patient cues, and provider biases arising from patient demographics.