AT520027B1 - patient simulator - Google Patents

Abstract

In a patient simulator (1), in particular preterm, neonatal or child simulator, comprising a thorax replica (2), an abdominal replica (13), a stethoscope simulator (41) and an audio generator (42), the thorax replica (2) and the abdominal replica ( 13) at least two distance sensors (43,44,45) which cooperate with a stethoscope head (46) of the Stethoskopsimulators (41) for determining the position of the stethoscope head (46), wherein the determined position data to the audio generator (42) can be fed, wherein the audio generator (42) has a memory for audio files (53) and a processing device for mixing the audio files (53) in dependence on the position data to a mixed audio signal that can be supplied to an earphone (47) of the stethoscope simulator (41).

Description

Patent Office

Description: The invention relates to a patient simulator, in particular a preterm, newborn or child simulator, comprising a replica of at least one part of the body of a human patient.

Since the care of a critically ill premature or newborn is a relatively rare event, it requires a quick, considered and structured action by the medical staff, which is why there are always problems in the implementation of medical actions and teamwork , If the right measures are not taken when caring for a life-threatening premature or newborn, this can have a lifelong impact on the child's further development. Therefore, especially in pediatrics, the implementation of simulation training is an ethical obligation. This is the only way to acquire the experience and skills necessary to care for critically ill premature or newborn babies without endangering the life or health of patients. The quality standards of today's medicine require that even rare events are trained in order to save lives on the one hand and to improve the quality of life after an emergency situation on the other.

Currently available infant and newborn dolls do not allow the simulation of many pathologies due to the small size and the required miniaturization of technology and control elements. In addition, simulation dolls of this type often lack true-to-life accuracy, as a result of which manipulations practiced on the doll do not automatically improve the activities in reality. WO 2012/155283A1 describes a lung simulator which is equipped with at least one air chamber which is designed, for example, as a silicone bellows in order to best simulate lung function in illness and in a healthy state. A disadvantage of the lung model disclosed in WO 2012/155283A1 is that, due to its size, it cannot be arranged within a lifelike simulator (doll), but is located outside the doll.

The present invention therefore aims to improve a patient simulator, in particular premature baby simulator, in such a way that the fidelity to reality is improved and the simulation of a wide variety of pathological conditions is made possible even in a small-sized version for the preterm baby simulation.

To assess the lungs and heart and the abdomen, it is advantageous for training purposes to be able to listen to noises with the aid of a stethoscope.

US 2005048455 A1 and WO 2012160999 A1 disclose stethoscope simulators which can reproduce various audio noises depending on the position of the stethoscope head. The position of the stethoscope head is determined in US 2005048455 A1 using a multiplicity of piezo pressure sensors and in WO 2012160999 A1 using an infrared camera.

Furthermore, in conventional patient simulators this is often accomplished by installing speakers in the area of the respective organs. However, this has clear disadvantages. Usually it is just a loudspeaker for the heart, two loudspeakers for the lungs and possibly a loudspeaker for bowel sounds above the abdomen. This means that the user has to hit the loudspeaker, which is not visible from the outside, exactly in order to be able to hear the sounds clearly. But even if the user hits the position of the desired loudspeaker, noises from the simulator mechanics are usually heard, which irritate and ultimately do not allow correct listening. To achieve this object, the invention provides a patient simulator, in particular a preterm, newborn or child simulator, comprising a thorax replica, an abdomen replica, a stethoscope simulator and an audio generator, the thorax replica and the abdomen replica having at least two distance sensors which have a stethoscope head Interaction of the stethoscope simulator for determining the position of the stethoscope head, the determined position data feeding the audio generator

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Are patent office bar, the audio generator having a memory for audio files and a processing device for mixing the audio files depending on the position data to a mixed audio signal that can be fed to an earphone of the stethoscope simulator. A distance sensor is understood here to mean a sensor which outputs a signal which is proportional to the distance, in particular spherical distance, between the sensor and the stethoscope head. The position of the stethoscope head can preferably be determined on the basis of the distance data by means of mathematical triangulation in order to obtain position data. The position data can be calculated from the distance data either in the patient simulation or externally. The audio generator is preferably arranged outside the patient replica. The invention is therefore based on the idea of not generating the noises to be auscultated in the patient simulator, but that only the position of the stethoscope in the patient simulator is recorded and the noises are generated according to the position in the stethoscope itself or in an external unit.

It is preferably provided that the simulator has a near field transmitter and the stethoscope has a resonant receiver circuit. The near-field transmitter of the simulator generates an electromagnetic near-field with a predetermined frequency. For example, a defined carrier frequency of 100 kHz, for example, is used.

In the simulator itself there are transmitter coils that are tuned to the carrier frequency. The resonance frequency and amplitude in the associated resonant circuit change depending on the distance to the receiver. The distance data obtained in this way, represented by the amplitude and frequency, are evaluated for position determination and the result is fed to the audio generator, in which a processing device ensures that, depending on the position, stored audio files are mixed to form a common audio signal which is transmitted to an earphone of the Stethoscope simulator can be supplied. The distance or position data can preferably be supplied to the audio generator as analog signals, which allows weighting of the volume of the audio files, such as sounds of the lungs, heart, stomach, and artificial noise, depending on a correct, quiet placement of the stethoscope and the audio files can be mixed into a resulting audio signal. Therefore, the situation for the training participant is that when the stethoscope simulator is positioned on the left chest, a clear lung sound is mixed or, when positioning close to the heart, primarily heart tones are mixed.

Alternatively, it can be provided that the near-field transmitter is arranged in the stethoscope and the receiver circuit in the simulator. The implementation of the transmitter and receiver is therefore interchangeable depending on the application.

The audio generator can either be arranged in a stethoscope replica of the stethoscope simulator or in a separate external unit from the patient replica of the patient simulator and from the stethoscope replica. The audio signal mixed by the audio generator arranged in an external unit can preferably be transmitted by means of wireless data transmission, e.g. Bluetooth wirelessly transmitted to a receiving unit of the stethoscope simulator and therefore can be heard via an integrated earphone without any unpleasant background noises.

A preferred embodiment provides that at least one audio signal can be mixed for each position on the thorax or abdomen replica, which represents the sounds of the human body at the corresponding position. The noises are weighted depending on the stethoscope head position, mixed from at least one stored audio file and output in the stethoscope.

The individual audio files each represent a simulated noise source, such as e.g. a heart murmur, a lung murmur, a stomach murmur and the like, and are therefore assigned to the position of the respective noise source. Furthermore, the processing device for mixing the audio files is advantageously designed in such a way that an audio file is added to the mixed signal at a greater volume, the smaller the distance

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Patent office of the stethoscope head from the position assigned to this audio file or this simulated noise source.

[0014] When generating the mixed audio signal, additional parameters can be taken into account in addition to the position information. For example, it is advantageous if the heart murmur is adjusted so that it shows the heart rate. The same applies to respiratory rate with regard to lung sounds. Furthermore, the noises can naturally vary depending on pathological conditions. In this connection, a preferred embodiment of the invention provides that each audio file with physiological noise can be replaced by an audio file with pathological noise and this is mixed for the output of the position-bound audio signal in accordance with the stethoscope head position.

In order to be able to reproduce the most varied sources of noise in the human body as realistically as possible, it is preferably provided that at least one audio file simulates a heart murmur and is therefore assigned to the position of the heart of the thorax simulation, that an audio file simulates a first lung murmur and therefore the position of the is assigned to the left lung of the chest replica that an audio file simulates a second lung noise and is therefore assigned to the position of the right lung of the thorax replica and / or that an audio file simulates a stomach noise and therefore is assigned to the position of the stomach of the abdomen replica.

Preferably, the patient simulator comprises a chest simulation, a lung simulator and a trachea simulation leading to the lung simulator, the chest simulation having a chest simulation with at least one raisable and lowerable chest element for simulating a chest raising and lowering, the at least one waist-adjustable chest element with one the lifting and lowering mechanism, which can be controlled independently from the lung simulator, interacts.

This preferred embodiment is based on designing the lung simulator and the simulation of the chest raising and lowering as functionally separate units which can be controlled separately from one another for carrying out simulation processes. A lung simulator is understood to mean the simulation of the basic respiratory mechanical parameters of a person, such as, in particular, the flow resistance of the airways (resistance) and the elasticity of the lungs (compliance). In the simplest case, a lung simulator comprises a pneumatic series connection of a resistance and a compliance. The pulmonary simulator is used to test various conditions in a patient's lungs, e.g. to simulate resistance and compliance, which is particularly advantageous for practicing mechanical ventilation using a patient simulator on real ventilators. In order to enable endotracheal intubation in this context, the patient simulator preferably comprises an artificial trachea leading to the lung simulator and preferably an anatomical larynx simulation.

In conventional designs of patient simulators it is a pneumatic lung model, usually an elastic hollow body, which is connected to a spontaneous breathing pressure source in order to periodically fill and empty the hollow body according to the simulated breathing, whereby the hollow body periodically expands and is contracted. In conventional designs, the chest replica is designed with a chest element that can be raised and lowered, under which the elastic hollow body of the lung simulator is arranged, so that the chest is raised by the pressure of the expanding hollow body and the chest is lowered by elastic provision of the chest element or the hollow body. The movement of the chest is thus directly linked to the spontaneous breathing simulation and ventilation of the lung simulator.

In contrast, the chest raising and lowering can be simulated in the preferred embodiment regardless of the current state of the lung simulator, because the raised and lowered chest element is driven by a mechanically or physically independent lifting and lowering mechanism of the lung simulator. The lung simulator and

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The patent office's chest raising and lowering are thus designed as functionally separate units which can be controlled separately from one another for carrying out simulation processes. As a result, not only physiologically normal conditions, but also various pathological conditions can be simulated realistically and extended exercise options created for the exercise participant. In addition, the possibility is created of arranging the lung simulator or individual components of the same at a location other than directly below the raised and lowered chest element, thereby facilitating a space-saving arrangement. In this connection, a preferred embodiment provides that the lung simulator is arranged inside the chest replica and / or within an abdomen replica. In particular, the lung simulator or individual components of the same can be arranged within the abdomen simulation.

The independent control of the lifting and lowering mechanism offers the further advantage that the lifting and lowering movements in a simple manner on a screen of a device, such as of a PC, displayed graphical user interface can be displayed. The graphical user interface here preferably comprises a graphical representation of the simulated patient, the graphical user interface interacting with the patient simulator or a control device controlling it in such a way that the graphical user interface shows an increase and a decrease in the chest of the patient shown, which is synchronous with the chest lifting and lowering caused by the lifting and lowering mechanics of the patient simulator.

To simulate physiologically normal states of the breathing system, in particular the lungs, the lifting and lowering mechanism of the thorax simulation is controlled so that the at least one raisable and lowerable chest element rises and falls in synchronism with the air filling and emptying of the lung simulator. This is particularly the case when performing ventilation exercises with the patient simulator, e.g. Ventilation exercises with a mask and a breathing bag. The simulator can preferably be ventilated when the head is in the neutral position and the respiratory mask is properly sealed. When the chest rises on the simulator, the user can see (according to reality) that he is ventilating effectively. For the technical implementation of such a simulation, it is preferably provided that the lung simulator has at least one cavity, preferably two cavities, namely one for simulating the right lung and one for simulating the left lung, which can be filled with air from a respirator, wherein pressure sensors are provided for measuring the pressure in the cavity (s). The signals from the pressure sensor (s) are preferably fed to a control device for controlling the lifting and lowering mechanism of the thorax simulation in order to raise and lower the at least one chest element which can be raised and lowered depending on the pressure signals. The pressure sensors are preferably arranged and designed to determine the ventilation pressure and the ventilation volume. For this purpose, the at least one cavity of the lung simulator is preferably designed to be adjustable in volume. The volume can be dynamically adjusted according to the physical principles of compliance and resistance. The calculation of the current volume is based e.g. on an adapted algorithm within a microcontroller. An electric drive is preferably provided for setting the physiological and pathological respiratory parameters of the lung simulator.

[0022] Alternatively, the lungs can also be carried out passively. For this purpose, the chamber is designed to be flexible, for example as a chamber with an open side which is spanned by a flexible membrane. The expansion of the membrane depending on the ventilation pressure allows the simulation of the tidal volume. By choosing the thickness, the material or the adjustability of the tension of the membrane, the compliance of the lungs can be adapted to a real comparable equivalent.

In connection with the simulation of pathological conditions, the respiratory distress syndrome is of particular importance. In the context of a shortness of breath syndrome, effective breathing and ventilation of the lungs is difficult. Because of the negative pressure in the lungs, the

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Patent office is difficult to fill with air, the diaphragm is pulled towards the chest. The chest barely rises and apparently lowers when the diaphragm is tightened. This creates the impression of rocking breathing or paradoxical breathing, as the chest lowers when inhaled and appears to lift when exhaled. This impression is reinforced by the opposite movement of the abdomen. The simulation of swing breathing is preferably made possible by the control of the lifting and lowering mechanism of the at least one raisable and lowerable chest element, which is independent of the lung simulator, the control unit of the lifting and lowering mechanism being set up to raise the at least one chest element when an exhalation is simulated , and lower if inhalation is simulated. In addition, it can preferably be provided that an abdominal replica of the patient simulator has a belly plate that can be raised and lowered and is driven by a lifting and lowering mechanism of the abdomen replica. The visual impression of a swing breathing is achieved in that the abdominal plate rises during the inhalation and the chest simultaneously lowers and the abdominal plate lowers during the exhalation and the chest rises at the same time.

[0024] Furthermore, a pneumothorax can preferably be simulated with the patient simulator. Pneumothorax is a feared complication in an immature premature baby. This causes a crack in the lungs and thus an acute emergency situation. This can be recognized by the fact that the chest no longer rises on the side in question. A preferred embodiment for simulating a pneumothorax provides that at least one right-hand raised and lowerable chest element for the right half of the chest and at least one left-hand raised and lowerable chest element for the left half of the chest are provided, which are designed such that they can be raised and lowered separately from one another which each interact with their own controllable lifting and lowering mechanism, the lifting and lowering mechanism for the right chest element and the lifting and lowering mechanism for the left chest element being independently controllable. Due to the arrangement of separate lifting and lowering mechanisms for the right and left half of the rib cage, it is possible to simulate a pneumothorax in a simple manner, both with self-breathing and with any form of ventilation. For this, only one of the two lifting and lowering mechanisms (right or left) is activated. This results in a unilateral elevation of the chest, which is clearly recognizable as a unilateral pneumothorax for the training participant.

A preferred embodiment provides that the lifting and lowering mechanism (s) is or are arranged in the thorax replica, in particular under the at least one chest element which can be raised and lowered.

The lifting and lowering mechanism can in principle be driven as desired, e.g. pneumatic, hydraulic or electric. The chest element is preferably raised and lowered with the aid of an electric motor, for which purpose the lifting and lowering mechanism (s) each have an electric motor drive unit, which preferably comprises an arm that can be driven to pivot movements. The swivel arm allows space-saving training of the lifting and lowering mechanism and at the same time enables a lifting and lowering movement with a relatively large stroke.

In relation to the lung simulator, it is preferably provided that it has at least one control element for setting compliance and resistance. The adjustment of the lungs can be formed by a chamber with a controllable piston, which can vary the adjusted lung volume depending on pressure and time, whereby both compliance and resistance can be adjusted by changing the pressure on the piston.

[0028] In a simplified, alternative lung control, the biological parameters compliance and resistance are preferably regulated separately from one another and each have at least one control element for compliance and resistance. In this preferred embodiment, the elasticity is formed by controlling the lung wall of the simulator differently to control compliance. The regulation of airway resistance (Re

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Patent office sistance) is regulated separately with an adjustable or quick-switching valve for adjusting the air resistance.

To implement the simulation of the improvement in oxygenation in a surfactant deficiency syndrome after the administration of a surfactant preparation or a replication of this medication with a liquid, a sensor is provided in the thorax replica, in particular in an airway replica, preferably in the trachea replica. The sensor is preferably interchangeably incorporated in a wall of the airway simulation and comprises a liquid-adsorbing material, in particular a foam material, and a moisture sensor integrated into the material. The sensor detects the injection of a liquid, e.g. of a surfactant preparation, into the airway and / or the lungs, in that the dry material, in particular foam material, absorbs the liquid and thus changes its electrically conductive property. As soon as the administration of the surfactant preparation has been detected, the patient simulator shows a change in the pathological parameters and lowers the values of compliance and resistance of the lung simulator according to the clinical reality over a period of time.

In addition to the sensory function of the surfactant sensor system, the sensor with the foam material fulfills the function of a dirt filter for the lung simulator and, when the sensor is changed, opens up the possibility of cleaning the airway by flushing with a cleaning liquid over a cleaning plug.

The exchangeable moisture sensor with a foam core is accordingly integrated in the airway for detecting liquids and filtering the breathing air.

A so-called intercostal retraction of the skin can be simulated for a more realistic representation of a respiratory distress syndrome. In the case of respiratory distress syndrome, inhalation is restricted. Due to the negative pressure that occurs in the chest when inhaled, skin and tissue are drawn into the flexible sections against the more rigid parts (skeleton). This is particularly visible in the area of the intercostal spaces ("intercostal"). In this context, a preferred embodiment of the invention provides that the at least one raised and lowered thorax element comprises a plurality of rib simulations and the thorax simulation has a skin replica that covers the rib simulations and can be lifted and lowered together with the at least one raisable and lowered thorax element is lowerable, with at least one raisable and lowerable thorax element acting on the skin replica traction or pressure, such as at least one thread or a rod-shaped traction element is fastened and the at least one raisable and lowerable chest element carries a drive element, in particular an electric motor, for displacing the traction means in order to bring about an intercostal retraction of the skin replica. Due to the fact that the drive element for displacing the traction means is arranged or fastened to the chest element which can be raised and lowered, the drive element is also moved during the lifting and lowering movements of the chest element which simulate (breathing), so that the simulation of the intercostal retraction is independent of the current lifting position of the chest element can be made.

In a further embodiment, the retraction can take place by means of magnetic force by incorporating magnetic elements into the skin and attracting them by at least one intercostal space by means of electrically controlled magnetic coils.

[0034] Furthermore, it can preferably be provided that the patient simulator is designed to simulate the pathological state of the necrotizing enterocolitis.

The necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is a partially. dramatic disease of the intestine, which is feared as a complication in the treatment of premature babies. It is the most common acute disease of the gastrointestinal tract in this patient group, with sometimes dramatic consequences for the premature baby. Decreased blood flow (reduced perfusion) of the intestinal wall in connection with an infection occurs in the NEC

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Patent office for tissue death (necrosis) in the intestinal wall. This usually occurs in the area of the temporal lleum and the ascending colon and is often associated with the formation of putrefactive gases in the intestinal wall (pneumatosis intestinalis). As the damage increases, the intestinal wall can perforate and intestinal contents leak into the free abdominal cavity. Inflammatory reactions, peritonitis and sepsis are the result.

Clinical sign of necrotizing enterocolitis is a partially. massively bloated stomach with enlarged intestinal loops, a lack of peristalsis and therefore a lack of bowel sounds. The local infection with a leakage of intestinal contents leads to a lively (white, grayish, bluish) discoloration of the abdominal skin and to the emergence of the vein markings in this area of different degrees. As a result of the bloating of the intestine and thus of the entire abdomen, there is sometimes a massive restriction on spontaneous breathing, since the overblown abdomen presses the lungs up into the thorax and thus compresses them. As a result, spontaneous breathing is often severely impaired. Therefore premature babies with a severe NEC often have to be intubated acutely and mechanically ventilated.

For the simulation of the NEC, the patient simulator is preferably designed to carry out the following processes. The bloating and hardening of the abdomen are simulated by lifting the abdominal plate. For this purpose, the abdominal plate is placed in the maximum position and held in it. If a force is exerted from the outside, it is preferably provided that the drive of the Bach plate lift exerts an adjustable, maximum counterforce in order to simulate the hardening. At the same time, the compliance of the lungs is preferably reduced via the physiological control loops of the lung model. The lung volume is reduced and a higher ventilation pressure is necessary for ventilation. The possible implementation of the discoloration of the simulator is preferably carried out by colored LEDs, which illuminate the simulated skin of the simulator in the abdominal area from the inside and make it shimmer in the required color. These LEDs can mix the basic colors red, green and blue according to the specification to compensate for any discoloration in the silicone skin. To simulate the protruding vascular drawing, the vessels are colored on the inside of the skin replica or incorporated into the wall of the skin replica. Under the direct or diffuse illumination by the LEDs of the lifting plate, these vascular reproductions are then visible through the stretched skin.

In this connection, a patient simulator, in particular a premature baby simulator, is preferably provided, comprising a lung simulator and an abdomen replica that has a raised and lowered abdominal plate, which is driven by a lifting and lowering mechanism, a control device being set up for this purpose Raise the abdominal plate and at the same time increase the ventilation resistance of the lung model. It is preferably provided here that the abdominal replica, including the abdominal plate, is spanned by a skin replica, the inside of which can be illuminated by lamps arranged in the abdomen replica.

Preferably, the patient simulator can be designed to simulate the symptom of "head bobbing", a sign of increased breathing work in premature and newborns. The lowering of the compliance of the lungs leads to jerky, breath-synchronous forward movements of the head with every inspiration due to the activity of the auxiliary breathing muscles in the area of the head (Μ. Sternocleidomostoid). To simulate this symptom, a servo motor or a comparable drive element can preferably be provided, which changes the angle between the head simulation and the thorax simulation of the simulator by means of a linkage or a comparable flexible conversion element, such as a cable pull. This movement is preferably synchronized with the breathing activity via the central control.

In this context, a patient simulator, in particular a premature baby simulator, is preferably provided, comprising a lung simulator, a thorax simulation which has a raised and lowered chest element which is driven by a lifting and lowering mechanism, and a head simulation which is operated with a tilting mechanism to change the

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Interacts angle between the head replica and the thorax replica, wherein a control device is set up to drive the tilting mechanism for a periodic tilting movement of the head replica, the periodic tilting movement being synchronized with the lifting and lowering movement of the rib cage element.

A patient simulator, in particular a preterm, newborn or child simulator, is preferably provided, comprising a head replica comprising a skull replica which is covered by a skin replica, at least one light source being arranged in and / or on the skull replica. This can simulate discoloration of the skin or skin imitation in the head area. In the case of a blue discoloration, for example, a cyanosis can be simulated. Cyanosis indicates decreased blood oxygen saturation and, if acute, can be a symptom of a life-threatening disorder. In the first few minutes after birth, premature babies and newborns physiologically still have cyanosis. This is particularly evident in the area of the head and trunk. With increasing effectiveness of breathing, the cyanosis then disappears in the first minutes of life. If it persists beyond this, it can be an important sign of a pathological condition. This can affect both breathing and cardiovascular function (e.g. congenital heart defects). Furthermore, the light source can also simulate a reddening / reddening of the head, which occurs, for example, in the case of hyperoxia, i.e. an excess of oxygen and an associated increase in oxygen partial pressure in the blood. For the care of a preterm and newborn, cyanosis and hyperoxia are therefore decisive clinical parameters that have a decisive influence on the actions of the caring team.

Characterized in that the at least one light source is preferably arranged in and / or on the skull replica, the light is not introduced directly into the skin replica, which would only lead to a localized, localized light effect on the skin, but it comes in As a result of the introduction of light into the skull replica there to a light distribution, so that a larger area of the skin replica is illuminated relatively evenly from the inside. This leads to a realistic simulation of a change in the skin color of the patient simulator. In contrast, the direct placement of light sources, such as LEDs under the skin lead to a clear, but overall unrealistic picture. The selective cyanosis at the location of the light source placement e.g. on the cheeks or in the mouth, would be physiologically incorrect and would appear unnatural.

A preferred embodiment provides that the at least one light source is formed by an RGB LED, the color channels of which can be controlled independently of one another. The use of multicolored RBG LEDs allows the implementation of different color shades in a simple manner. Such LEDs preferably have at least three individual LED elements of different colors. To cover the entire spectrum of visible light (and thus especially the different nuances for cyanosis and hyperoxia), the three LED colors red, green and blue of the LED source are preferably mixed together. Due to developments in the microelectronic sector, there are currently various options for controlling the RGB LEDs, ranging from the use of the combination of individual LED components with discrete control to highly integrated modules with a digital control line for setting the color temperature , Another advantage of RGB LEDs is the space-saving construction option of several lighting elements, especially if they can be cascaded together in series via a serial bus. In the case of serial cabling, only one control line is required for programming the modules, the serial data signal consisting of e.g. eight bits per color of each lighting module and the information is passed through all modules. It follows that, depending on the number of modules, an equal number of 3 color bytes must be generated in order to set all modules in the chain with color information.

The entire color range of the RGB LEDs preferably comprises> 4 million, in particular> 16 million possible colors and thus comprises the entire visible color spectrum from white to

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Patent office black. This means that if you choose a suitable color, you can easily achieve realistic coloring of the skin. A separate microcontroller is preferably provided for the management of the color control and the data exchange, which receives control commands from a main control and passes them on to the individual RGB LEDs.

For the realization of skin discoloration in the forehead area of the head replica, it is preferred if a light source is arranged on the inner surface of the skull cap of the skull replica. The indirect lighting achieved in this way inside the skull replica leads to a homogeneous, uniform light distribution. For this purpose, the LED module provided for this purpose can preferably be glued medially to the skull base and thus indirectly illuminates the inner part of the skull cap. The reflection that occurs via the skull imitation, which is preferably formed in white color, thus illuminates the entire forehead area and the side parts of the skull homogeneously. In combination with cheek lighting, this leads to a uniform illumination of the entire upper head area. The result is an extremely realistic representation of cyanosis and hyperoxia in the head area.

For the realization of skin discoloration in the nasal mouth area of the head replica, it is preferred that a light source in the skull replica be arranged to illuminate the middle cranial cavity from the inside. The direct illumination of the skull bones of the skull replica from inside the skull replica, in the area of the middle skull pit, results in a homogeneous and realistic light distribution that emits at the interfaces between the skull replica and the skin replica. This leads to extremely realistic coloring in the area of the nasal mouth. With regard to series production, the irradiation of the bones from the inside of the skull means a clear advantage. The light modules are thus protected against any mechanical stress and can be easily constructed and replaced. In addition to the good light distribution and advantages for series production and durability, there is also a reduction in the energy requirement for the light source, since with this method there are no energy losses due to the connection of an optical fiber via an adapter.

A homogeneous illumination of the skin replica is preferably achieved in that the skull replica consists of a polymeric, translucent, in particular white, material and the skin replica is transparent or translucent, in particular made of a silicone material.

For lighting areas that are difficult to access, e.g. Mouth and chin zone, due to limited space, the use of light guides is advantageous. The space is particularly limited when the head replica includes a replica of the upper respiratory tract. In this context, a preferred embodiment provides that a light source is connected to an optical waveguide which extends in an arc shape in the chin region of the head replica and is designed to emit light along the arc, the light-radiating arc-shaped region of the optical waveguide preferably between the skin replica and one Airway replica or the lower jaw is arranged. The radiation in the arcuate region is advantageously achieved by roughening and / or indenting the outer surface of the optical waveguide. This also results in a diffuse and flat radiation. The optical waveguide is preferably arranged in such a way that the light-emitting arcuate region is guided parallel to a replica of the lower jaw.

A patient simulator, in particular a preterm, newborn or child simulator, is preferably provided, comprising a head replica with a nose replica with two flexible nostrils, with a drive element leading into the interior of the replica on the nostrils, e.g. at least one thread or lever engages to simulate a widening and narrowing of the nostrils. The so-called "nostrils shows itself as breathing-synchronous widening of the nostrils when inhaled and is a symptom of a shortness of breath syndrome.

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Patent Office The actuation of the nostril movement is preferably effected in that a lever mechanism interacts with a drive element, for example an electromagnet, for moving the lever. The lever mechanism is constructed in such a way that when the electromagnet is activated, the opposite ends of the lever move in opposite directions and the ends in the nostrils spread apart when the levers are pulled towards the magnet. This activates the nostrils when the magnet is activated. When the electromagnet is deactivated, the nostrils are reset due to the elastic designs of the nostrils with an appropriate plastic.

A breath-synchronous movement of the nostrils is preferably achieved in that a central control device is provided, which is designed to control the lifting and lowering mechanism of the thorax simulation and to control the drive element of the nostrils such that the expansion of the nostrils and the lifting of the at least one chest element that can be raised and lowered takes place synchronously.

In general, in each of the aspects described above, it is preferably provided that the patient simulator has a complete body of the respective patient, i.e. represents in particular a premature baby, a newborn or a child and therefore includes, in addition to a thorax, an abdomen, a head replica, also replicas of the extremities. Furthermore, the patient simulator is designed in terms of its dimensions and in relation to the proportions of its simulated body parts in such a way that it matches the dimensions and proportions of a real patient, i.e. of a human premature, newborn or child.

The invention is explained in more detail below with reference to exemplary embodiments schematically illustrated in the drawing. In this shows

Fig. 1 a premature baby simulator in a partially open view, 2 and 3 the premature baby simulator with a stomach plate in different positions, Fig. 4 another representation of the premature baby simulator, Fig. 5 a detailed view of the premature baby simulator with a mechanism for intercostal retraction, 6 and 7 a representation of the skin replica in two different states of intercostal retraction, Fig. 8 2 shows a sectional view of the skull replica of the premature baby simulator, Figure 9 another sectional view of the skull replica of the premature baby simulator, Fig. 10 a front view of the skull replica of the premature baby simulator, Figure 11 a detailed representation of the skull replica in the area of the nose, Fig. 12 a stethoscope replica in cooperation with the premature baby simulator, Fig. 13 a circuit diagram of the stethoscope replica, Fig. 14 an overview of the control logic of the patient simulator, in particular regarding the lung model and Fig. 15 a complete overview of the patient simulator including control and monitoring components.

1 shows a premature baby simulator 1, which comprises a chest simulation 2, a lung simulator 3 and a trachea replica 4 leading to the lung simulator 3. The

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Thorax replica 2 comprises a right raised and lowered chest element 5 for the right half of the chest and a left raised and lowered chest element for the left half of the chest (not shown in FIG. 1). Furthermore, the simulator 1 comprises a skull replica 6. The two rib cage elements 5 can be raised and lowered separately from one another and are each equipped with their own controllable lifting and lowering mechanisms. The lifting and lowering mechanism arranged in the interior of the simulator 1 in each case comprises an electromotive drive unit 7 on both sides, which drives a gearwheel 8. The gear wheel 8 engages in a toothing 9 formed on the pivotably mounted arm 10, the respective right or left rib cage element 5 being fastened to the arm 10, so that the rotary movement of the gear wheel 8, depending on the direction of rotation, into a lifting or lowering movement of the arm 10 translated with the chest element 5 in the direction of the double arrow 12. The left and right rib cage elements 5 each have a rib replica 11.

Furthermore, the simulator 1 comprises an abdominal replica 13 which has a belly plate 14 which can be raised and lowered, the raising and lowering of the belly plate 14 - analogously to the raising and lowering of the rib cage elements 5 - by an electromotive drive unit 15, which is a toothed wheel 16 drives, which in turn engages in a toothing 17 which is formed on a pivotably mounted arm 18 to which the abdominal plate 14 is attached.

2 shows the abdominal plate 14 and the rib cage elements 5 in the lowered position and FIG. 3 shows the abdominal plate 14 and the rib cage elements 5 in the raised position.

Upon actuation of the electromotive drive unit 15 (not shown in Fig.2 and Fig.3), the gear 16 rotates and an increase / decrease in the abdominal plate 14 in the direction of arrow 19 by engagement of the gear 16 in the teeth 17 and thereby induced pivoting of the drivable arm 18 causes. Depending on the direction of rotation of the gear 16, a simulation of the abdomen elevation or lowering is possible.

4 shows the complete anatomical support structure of the simulator 1 over which a skin replica 20 (not shown in FIG. 4) lies, which includes the entire simulator 1, ie also the thorax replica 2 with the rib replicas 11, and the abdomen replica 13 the belly plate 14 covered. In particular, the skin replica 20 encloses the thorax replica 2 and the abdomen replica 13. The skin replica 20 is made of an elastic material, such as e.g. made of a silicone material to allow the raising and lowering of the chest elements 5 and the abdominal plate 14.

In FIGS. 5 to 7 it is further shown that traction means 21 acting on the skin replica 20 are provided for simulating an intercostal retraction. The traction means 21 extend between the individual ribs of the rib replica 11 and are each attached to pivot rods 21 'at their end facing away from the skin replica 20. The swivel rods 21 'are rigidly fastened to a common axis and can therefore be swiveled about this axis, an electromotive drive unit 22 being provided for the swivel drive, which drives the toothed wheel 23 for rotary movement, which meshes with the toothed wheel 24 fastened to the axis of the swivel rods 21' , The pivoting of the pivot rods 21 'in the sine of the double arrow 25 causes the skin replica 20 to be drawn between the rib replicas 11 or to be moved back into its normal position. Depending on the direction of rotation of the drive 22, a simulation of the intercostal retraction or the normal position of the skin replica 20 is thus possible. The drive 22 is attached to the arm 10, which is responsible for raising and lowering the rib replicas 11. Because the drive 22 is also moved when the arm is raised or lowered, the intercostal retraction of the skin replica 20 can be simulated independently of the respective position of the rib replica 11.

6, the skin replica 20 is shown in the normal position and in FIG. 7 with a simulated, intercostal retraction.

8 and 9 show a head replica 26 of the simulator 1, which is a Schä11 / 30

AT 520 027 B1 2019-02-15 Austrian

Patent office delnachbildung 6 has. The light sources 27, 28, 29, 30 and 31 are arranged within the skull replica 6.

The light sources 27 and 28 are fastened to a carrier plate arranged in the skull cavity and are directed in the region of the forehead against the inner surface of the skull cap of the skull replica 6. The light sources 29 and 30 are located in the central skull pit of the skull replica 6. A further light source 31 is arranged in the interior of the skull replica 6 and feeds an optical waveguide 32 which extends in an arc shape in the chin region 33 of the head replica 26.

Due to the fact that the skull replica 6 and the skin replica 20 are translucent, when the light sources 27 to 31 are actuated, an illumination pattern as shown in FIG. 10 results which is characteristic blue in the case of a present cyanosis and characteristic red in the case of hyperoxia ,

Fig. 11 shows the head replica 26 of the simulator 1 with a nose replica 34, which has two flexible nostrils 35, which act on the nasal wings 35 inside the head replica 26 levers 36, which are made of a magnetizable material. Furthermore, a control device 37 is provided which carries electromagnets 38, the electromagnets 38 being activated when the control device 37 is actuated and the magnetic levers 36 being tightened in accordance with the arrows 39, which in turn causes the nostrils to widen in the direction of the arrows 40.

Fig. 12 shows a skin replica 20 which covers the entire simulator 1, i.e. also the thorax replica 2 with the rib replicas 11 and the abdomen replica 13 covered with the abdominal plate 14. In particular, the skin replica 20 encloses the thorax replica 2 and the abdomen replica 13. The skin replica 20 is made of an elastic material, such as e.g. made of a silicone material to allow the raising and lowering of the chest elements 5 and the abdominal plate 14.

Furthermore, a stethoscope simulator 41 is shown in FIG. 12, the thorax simulation 2 and the abdomen simulation 13 having three distance sensors 43, 44, 45, which have a stethoscope head 46 of the stethoscope simulator 41 for determining the distance between the stethoscope head 46 and the respective one Distance sensor 43, 44, 45 cooperate in order to obtain signals proportional to the distance. The control unit 48 comprises a memory for audio files and a processing device for mixing the audio files as a function of the distance data to form a mixed audio signal which is fed to the earphones 47 of the stethoscope simulator 41.

13 shows a circuit diagram schematically, it being evident that the distance sensors 43, 44, 45 (not shown in FIG. 13) of the patient simulator 1 are designed as a near-field transmitter with a transmitter resonant circuit 49 and the stethoscope head 46 is a resonant one Has receiver resonant circuit 50. The near-field transmitters of the patient simulator 1 generate an electromagnetic near-field with a predetermined frequency, the carrier frequency being defined, for example, at 100 kHz. The transmitter resonant circuits 49 are tuned to this carrier frequency, the resonance frequency and the amplitude changing depending on the distance from the receiver resonant circuit 50. The resonance frequency and the amplitude of the two transmitter oscillating circuits 49 are evaluated in an evaluation device 51 and wirelessly transmitted to a central external control device 48 as distance data representing the respective distance from the stethoscope head 46, e.g. transmitted a control computer. The distance data is received by the reception module 52 in the control device 48. The distance data can be fed directly to the audio generator 42 or first, e.g. can be converted into position data using triangulation processes. A processing device in the audio generator ensures that stored audio files 53 are mixed to form a common audio signal depending on the distance or position data. The audio signal is transmitted wirelessly to a receiver module 54 of the stethoscope simulator 41 and amplified there in an amplifier 55 and fed to the earphones 47. The stethoscope simulator 41 further includes one not shown

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Power supply which not only feeds the receiver module 54 and the amplifier 55, but also the receiver resonant circuit 50 via the lines 56.

14 shows the control of the lung simulator and the separate control of the lifting and lowering mechanism of the chest simulation.

The lung simulator 3 comprises a rigid-walled, preferably metallic cylinder 57, in which a piston 58 is arranged so as to be adjustable in the axial direction with the aid of a drive 59 (e.g. stepper motor). The piston 58 delimits a working volume or a cavity 60 of the lung simulator 3, into which an air tube replica 4 opens, into which the tube 67 of a respirator (not shown) can be inserted. At the transition from the trachea simulation 4 into the cavity 60, a narrow point 61 is provided, through which the flow cross section of the air in the trachea simulation 4 is narrowed. There are also pressure sensors 62 and 63 with a pressure relief valve (not shown) for limiting the maximum permissible pressure, which are arranged for measuring the pressure in the cavity 60 and in the trachea simulation 4.

To simulate the individual lung functions, a computer-assisted control device 64, in particular a computing device, is provided, which interacts with a physiological computing model 65, with which physiological relationships of the simulated parameters of the lung simulator can be simulated. The signals from pressure sensors 62 and 63 and the signals from a sensor 66 for detecting the current position of piston 58 are fed to control device 64. The control device 64 generates control commands for the piston drive 59 for the controlled activation and movement of the piston 58, the behavior of a flexible membrane provided in conventional lung simulators being able to be simulated through the use of a fast control system and due to the rigid design of the cavity-limiting walls.

In order to simulate a connected ventilation machine to a patient, it is sufficient to simulate the tidal volume of the ventilated patient, which represents only a small proportion of the total capacity of the lungs.

The cavity 60 of the lung simulator is therefore dimensioned such that, in the maximum piston position, it corresponds to the tidal volume, plus a volume reserve for the control, of a human patient, in particular a premature baby, newborn or child.

In order to simulate a lung of a ventilator, the volume and pressure curve over time has to be in the range of physiological or pathological parameters.

This ensures that the use of ventilation devices (mechanical and manual) in combination with the integrated lung simulation leads to the display of realistic ventilation parameters and allows adjustment of realistic ventilation pressures and volumes on ventilation devices. This also leads to the realistic triggering of pressure and volume alarms on the ventilator.

To simulate the tidal volume of the patient simulator, the volume of the cavity 60 in the inhalation simulation is increased by correspondingly moving the piston 58 and reduced in the exhalation simulation.

Both the current pressure in the cavity 60 and the current volume of the cavity 60 are determined for the simulation of the compliance. Compliance is defined here as the volume increase AV per increase in the applied gas pressure Δρ, the dependence of the volume increase AV on the pressure increase Δρ being non-linear, i.e. the ratio AV / Ap becomes smaller towards the end of inhalation (even a small increase in volume creates a large increase in pressure). The pressure p is measured using the pressure sensor 62. The volume V results from the known cross section of the cylinder 57 and the piston position measured with the sensor 66. If the pressure changes differently than is specified by the piston position (directly proportional to the volume), the electromechanical drive 59 can be used

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Piston position are tracked. The temporal resolution of the control must be chosen as high as possible so that no quantization levels can be identified. In the design chosen, a volume flow sensor can also be implemented by a second pressure sensor in the working volume in connection with a constriction at the piston outlet, which can be used to refine the image.

From the ventilator perspective, only the pressure at the end of the tube is relevant. This fact can be used to simulate the resistance through the dynamic component of the control loop. This also adds a time component to the system. With increased flow resistance in the respiratory tract, the filling of the lungs is delayed or is made so difficult that no gas exchange is possible in the intended time.

With increased resistance, there is a backflow of the breathing gases in the tube, the pressure increases, the volume flow decreases. Low resistance R in the lungs creates a low back pressure p in the tube, the volume flow V becomes maximum.

In order to simulate this effect with only a single piston 58, it is necessary to adapt the pressure in the cavity 60 to the pressure in the tube 67. If the resistance is low, the pressure in the cavity 60 is kept lower or equal to the pressure in the tube 67 in order to facilitate the inflow of the gases. With increased resistance, an increased back pressure is generated in the cavity 60, which hinders the inflow of breathing gases. The reduction or increase in the back pressure is brought about by the adjustment of the piston 58. When controlling the piston position, two influencing variables are taken into account. On the one hand the piston position resulting from the compliance as a function of the pressure in the cavity 60, on the other hand the setting of a back pressure resulting from the resistance.

By detecting the pressures in the cavity 60, as well as in the tube 67 and on the basis of the known diameter of the constriction, it is also possible to draw conclusions about the current volume flow.

Another view is the evaluation of the volume flow, since a volume flow sensor is formed by the two pressure sensors with the constriction, which measures the volume flow directly.

In the control device 64, based on the measured values of the pressure sensors 62 and 63 and on the basis of the piston position determined by the sensor 66, the volume of the cavity 60, the volume flow into or out of the cavity 60 and the pressure in the cavity 60 are present , With the physiological computing model 65, information relating to compliance and resistance can be calculated therefrom or, conversely, corresponding values for pressure, volume flow and volume can be calculated from a predetermined compliance value and a predetermined resistance value.

The physiological computing model is designed to define the current filling volume from the values for compliance, resistance and respiratory pathologies (eg swing breathing) and also separately to generate the position data for the current position of the chest replica and the abdominal plate, which the animation controller 68 guides become. In the animation control 68, control signals are generated for the lifting and lowering mechanism 69 interacting with the chest simulation and for the lifting and lowering mechanism 70 interacting with the abdominal plate, so that the simulation of the breathing movements takes place synchronously with and in accordance with the simulation state of the lung simulator 3.

15 shows an overall overview of a simulation system comprising the patient simulator 1 and the control and monitoring components. The patient simulator 1 represents a replica of the entire body of a premature, newborn or child. The system further comprises a server 71, a graphical user interface 72, a patient monitor 73 and a simulation computer 74.

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Patent Office [0098] The simulation computer 74 is responsible for the communication of the patient simulator 1 with the graphical user interface 72 and the patient monitor 73 and is preferably integrated into the patient simulator 1. The simulation computer 74 takes over the computationally intensive preparation of the control commands and sensor data acquisition. The simulation computer 74 communicates with the components installed in the simulator 1 and collects various sensor data from the simulator 1, processes them and subsequently generates control signals with which e.g. the servo motors of the simulator 1 are checked.

With respect to the lung simulator (FIG. 14), the simulation computer 74 comprises the physiological computing model 65 and the animation controller 68.

The entire simulation system is controlled by a trainer via the graphical user interface 72. This user interface enables the trainer to enter the framework conditions for the training scenario. In the course of the exercise, the desired pathological changes are controlled here and the measures carried out by the exercise participant can be made visible to the trainer on the user interface by visualizing the sensor data of the system. For this purpose, the parameters and the individual functions of the simulator 1, such as breathing and heartbeat, are first transferred to the simulation computer 74 and the corresponding control commands for the patient simulator 1 are generated there.

The user interface is preferably divided into three areas: 1.) the representation of the newborn or premature baby, with the controls for e.g. ECG, saturation monitoring and peripheral access, 2.) the area for controlling the respiratory functions and 3.) the area for mapping and controlling the patient monitor 73. The center of the user interface are the 3D model of the lungs and the 3D model of the simulator in the current simulation state. The control elements enable “remote control of the simulation system via the intermediate layer of the simulation computer 74. The simulation computer 74 continuously determines the current state in which the simulator 1 is currently located and transmits it to the graphical user interface 72, which reproduces this state exactly on the surface.

This enables e.g. a live display of measures taken by the training participants, e.g. Chest compressions.

For the display of the simulated vital signs of the simulated patient, the system comprises a patient monitor 73. The adjustable and the measured vital signs, which are displayed in real time on the graphical user interface 72, are preferably wireless, e.g. transmitted via WiFi. This visualizes the physiological data of the simulated patient for the training participants. The realistic representation of these values is of crucial importance for the decision making and the initiation of the appropriate measures for the trainees. For operating the monitor, e.g. acknowledging alarms, this has a touchscreen.

The optional server 71 is used to manage and communicate data that relate to the patient monitor 73 and are not shown in the model of the simulator 1.

Claims (6)

claims 1. patient simulator (1), in particular premature, newborn or child simulator, comprising a chest replica (2), an abdomen replica (13), a stethoscope simulator (41) and an audio generator (42), the thorax replica (2) and the abdomen replica (13) have at least two distance sensors (43, 44, 45) which interact with a stethoscope head (46) of the stethoscope simulator (41) to determine the position of the stethoscope head (46), the determined position data being able to be fed to the audio generator (42), wherein the audio generator (42) has a memory for audio files (53) and a processing device for mixing the audio files (53) as a function of the position data to form a mixed audio signal which can be fed to an earphone (47) of the stethoscope simulator (41). 2. Patient simulator according to claim 1, characterized in that for each position on the thorax or abdomen replica (2, 13) at least one audio signal can be mixed, which represents sounds of the human body at the corresponding position, the sounds depending on the Weighted stethoscope head position mixed from at least one stored audio file (53) and output in the stethoscope (41). 3. patient simulator according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the processing device for mixing the audio files (53) is advantageously designed such that an audio file (53) is added to the mixed signal at a greater volume, the smaller the distance of the Stethoscope head (46) from the position associated with this audio file (53). 4. Patient simulator according to one of claims 1, 2 or 3, characterized in that each audio file (53) with physiological noise can be replaced by an audio file (53) with pathological noise and this is mixed for the output of the positional audio signal according to the stethoscope head position , 5. Patient simulator according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that at least one audio file (53) simulates a heart murmur and the position of the heart is associated with the thorax simulation (2), that an audio file (53) simulates a first lung noise and the position of the left lung of the chest simulation (2) is assigned that an audio file (53) simulates a second lung noise and the position of the right lung is assigned to the chest simulation (2) and / or that an audio file (53) simulates a stomach noise and the position of the Stomach of the abdomen replica (13) is assigned. 6. Patient simulator according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the simulator (1) or the stethoscope (41) has a near field transmitter and the stethoscope (41) or the simulator (1) each has a receiver coil.