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Education Research: Simulator-Based Training in Transcranial Doppler Ultrasound: Enhancing Competency in a Critical
Aidan Shev1, Florence Sheehan1, Ziao Yin1
1Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle.
Neurology. Education
|February 5, 2026
Summary
Simulator training rapidly improved novice skills in Transcranial Doppler (TCD) ultrasound for measuring cerebral blood flow velocity. This approach effectively addresses the shortage of trained practitioners by providing scalable, standardized education.
Area of Science:
- Medical Education
- Neurology
- Medical Simulation
Background:
- Transcranial Doppler (TCD) ultrasound is crucial for assessing cerebral blood flow velocity in cerebrovascular diseases.
- A significant barrier to TCD's widespread adoption is the limited availability of trained healthcare professionals.
- This study investigates a novel simulator-based curriculum to address this training gap.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the effectiveness of a simulator-based curriculum in teaching novice medical and premedical students foundational TCD skills.
- To assess improvements in both psychomotor (insonation accuracy) and cognitive (knowledge) skills related to TCD procedures.
- To determine the feasibility and efficiency of simulator-based training for TCD.
Main Methods:
- A novel simulator with interactive practice and real-time feedback was utilized.
- Medical and premedical students with no prior TCD experience underwent pretraining and posttraining assessments.
- Psychomotor skills were evaluated by the accuracy of insonating specific intracranial arteries; cognitive skills were assessed via multiple-choice questions (MCQs).
Main Results:
- Significant improvements were observed in correct insonation rates, increasing from 16% to 61% (p < 0.0001).
- First-attempt accuracy improved substantially, from 15% to 49% (p < 0.0001).
- Knowledge scores on MCQs rose dramatically from 7% to 64% (p < 0.0001), with large effect sizes for all measures.
Conclusions:
- Simulator-based training effectively and rapidly enhances novices' ability to perform TCD insonation.
- This training method offers a scalable and standardized solution to the shortage of trained TCD providers.
- Simulator training serves as a vital foundational step for developing TCD expertise.
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