Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 25, 2025
Creation of Patient-Specific Silicone Cardiac Models with Applications in Pre-surgical Plans and Hands-on Training
Published on: February 10, 2022
3D-Printed silicone anatomic patient simulator to enhance training on cardiopulmonary bypass
Branden Tyler Messarra1, Yaxin Wang2, P Alex Smith2
1School of Perfusion Technology, Texas Heart Institute, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
Background:
Simulator training is important for teaching perfusion students fundamental skills associated with CBP before they start working in the clinic. Currently available high-fidelity simulators lack anatomic features that would help students visually understand the connection between hemodynamic parameters and anatomic structure. Therefore, a 3D-printed silicone cardiovascular system was developed at our institution. This study aimed to determine whether using this anatomic perfusion simulator instead of a traditional "bucket" simulator would better improve perfusion students' understanding of cannulation sites, blood flow, and anatomy.
Methods:
Sixteen students were tested to establish their baseline knowledge. They were randomly divided into two groups to witness a simulated bypass pump run on one of two simulators - anatomic or bucket - then retested. To better analyze the data, we defined "true learning" as characterized by an incorrect answer on the pre-simulation assessment being corrected on the post-simulation assessment.
Results:
The group that witnessed the simulated pump run on the anatomic simulator showed a larger increase in mean test score, more instances of true learning, and a larger gain in the acuity confidence interval.
Conclusions:
Despite the small sample size, the results suggest that the anatomic simulator is a valuable instrument for teaching new perfusion students.
