Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 25, 2025
Author Spotlight: Evaluating Clinicians' Adoption of Ultrasound-Guided Vascular Cannulation Through Simulation Training
Published on: August 9, 2024
Ultrasound-Guided Percutaneous Arterial Puncture and Closure Device Training in a Pulsatile Model
Fadi Taher1, Markus Plimon1, Andrej Isaak2
1Department of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery, Wilhelminenhospital, Vienna, Austria.
Objective:
The current study assesses the feasibility of in vitro practice of percutaneous puncture techniques in a pulsatile flow-model.
Design:
Prospective, controlled, randomized study.
Setting:
The percutaneous access to endovascular aortic repair is considered safe, but success rates may be dependent on surgeon experience with the technique.
Participants:
Fourteen vascular surgery trainees and consultants were enrolled and randomized to a study or control group with both groups receiving instructions by a tutor on how to perform ultrasound guided percutaneous puncture and closure using a suture-mediated closure device. The study group received additional hands-on training on a pulsatile flowmodel of the groin and the performance of both groups was then graded. Study group participants were timed during and after their training on the model.
Results:
The study group achieved higher overall grading than the control group on a 5-point scale with higher scores indicating a better performance (mean overall scores 4.0 ± 0.7 versus 2.8 ± 1.0, respectively; p = 0.03). Experienced participants (more than 20 punctures performed before the study) achieved higher overall scores than trainees (3.8 ± 0.4 versus 2.5 ± 0.8, respectively; p = 0.01). Five participants in the study group could deploy and close the ProGlide closure device correctly without the help of a tutor while being graded (71% in the study versus 0% in the control group; p = 0.02). Study group participants improved their overall score from 3.2 ± 0.9 to 4.0 ± 0.7 during training (p = 0.02). Time needed to complete the puncture and closure reduced from 456 seconds on average before, to 302 seconds after training (p < 0.001).
Conclusions:
Study group participants could improve their overall score while working on the simulator. More experienced participants performed better during the simulation, which may indicate the model to be life-like and a potential skills assessment tool. Simulation training may be a valuable adjunct to traditional forms of training when teaching an endovascular technique but is limited by its reliance on simulators and demo devices.
