The EMS Training & Research Institute uses the Advanced Training Mannequin in nearly every class offered. A highly sophisticated, computerized learning tool, the mannequin serves as a patient simulator and can imitate many of the physiologic and anatomic symptoms of an actual person in need of medical treatment.
The Advanced Training Mannequin is programmable, so it can simulate different scenarios. The instructor selects from a vast number of possible patient profiles to demonstrate a variety of situations, ranging from heart attack and stroke to drug overdose and pneumothorax (collapsed lung). Depending on the scenario, the mannequin's symptoms may include a palpable pulse, heart and lung sounds, moaning, and vomiting sounds.
The mannequin is also capable of producing multiple morphologies of EKG rhythms. This demonstrates how different persons' EKG rhythms may translate to the same diagnosis, yet appear to be different.
The Advanced Training Mannequin allows students to practice medical interventions that they would have to perform in actual emergency situations. They can practice starting an IV, intubating a patient, defibrillating a patient's heart, performing CPR, and more. The students' actions elicit responses from the mannequin, such as a change in blood pressure, cardiac output or respiratory pattern. These responses are transmitted to a computer for immediate results, and students are allowed to discover immediately whether or not their medical intervention was successful.