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Training Nurses With Virtual Veins

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the watch-where-you're-pointing-that-thing dept.

meganthom writes "UK Haptics is developing a virtual hand to help nurses learn how to draw blood and put in IVs in a realistic manner. Though plastic models are currently used, these do not give new nurses the 'feel' for how much pressure to apply to the needle, and they cannot alert the nurse about pain. The system currently under development, which uses haptics, would make the learning experience considerably more realistic, even telling the nurse when too much pressure was applied."

5 of 171 comments (clear)

  1. Self-describing medical instructions by JBMcB · · Score: 5, Interesting

    My wife had a plant safety class where they learned CPR from a paramedic who specializes in training. She had tattoed instructions on her arm how to do CPR, with an X on her wrist saying "Check here for pulse" and an X on her chest over her heart saying "Push here"

    People should come with operating instructions :)

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  2. Nice by butane_bob2003 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Last time I had blood taken, they let the trainee practice on my arm. She managed to spear through a major vein a few times, but never actually got in there. After making that vein completely useless, the head nurse came over and tried on the other arm. The trainee was still shaking, I'm not sure if she was nervous or just a shaker.

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  3. now they tell me by boskone · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I just gave blood yesterday and volunteered to be the guinea pig for a new trainee. I was her first human stick!

    (She did great, but nevertheless, I would have felt better if she could have trained with one of these first.)

  4. When I learned it... by Ungrounded+Lightning · · Score: 4, Interesting

    When I learned IV insertion we practiced on a loose-fitting concentric rubber tubes with liquid between them. The inner tube squirmed around about as much as a normal vein.

    It's nice to see that they're getting more realistic.

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    Bantam Dominique roosters crow a four-note song. Once you've heard it as "Happy BIRTHday" you can't NOT hear it that way
  5. Trainees by Tenebrious1 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    While I was in an ICU unit, the doc came by with some students. Since I have nice beefy arms and huge veins (the blood donation folks love me), the doc asked if I minded the students practicing on me.

    Well, seeing that the trainees were young and cute, I said "sure" and let them stab me several times. Ok, they did pretty well, probably because their "patient" wasn't freaking out.

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