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Airway mannequin intubating mannequins: Moving from a fixed blob to a modular challenge

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Create an airway mannequin to practice intubation that exposes trainees to changing airways with varying difficulties such as scenarios with a smaller airway, limited neck range of motion, and suboptimal jaw movement.

Project Overview

Current airway mannequins on the market are rigid and fixed bodied devices that cost upwards of 800 dollars. While the mannequins offer valuable training, they only provide practice on an airway pathway with one specific anatomy per mannequin (one skill-level) and their rigidness decreases realisticality. This does not give intubation experience on the variety of unique pathways and physiological characteristics that each patient possesses. To practice intubation on another airway pathway, a new airway mannequin will have to be purchased, a very costly endeavor. As a result, most physicians receive limited training on airway mannequins and gain most of their experience and skills from working on actual patients, a very high risk environment. To avoid using patients as the main source of training and skill-building, our goal is to develop a realistic modular adult airway mannequin that allows for airway cartridges and molds with different anatomical structures to be rapidly removed from and inserted into the mannequin. The mannequin will have an adjustable neck and mandible and the airways will vary in tightness, vocal cord location, and anterior placement to increase realisticality and provide a multitude of training levels. The plastic airway molds that insert inside the cartridges will be soft and malleable, further enhancing the biomimicry of the mannequin. Each airway cartridge and plastic-moldable path will cost no more than 10 dollars, promoting the use of these modular mannequins as the main source of training.

Team Picture

Front row (from left to right) -- Sydney Therien, Sofia Fardella, Vanessa Obrycki, Lars Krugel. Back row (from left to right): Will Onuscheck, Parker Esswein
Front row (from left to right) -- Sydney Therien, Sofia Fardella, Vanessa Obrycki, Lars Krugel. Back row (from left to right): Will Onuscheck, Parker Esswein

Contact Information

Team Members

  • Parker Esswein - Co-Team Leader
  • Vanessa Obrycki - Co-Team Leader
  • Lars Krugel - Communicator
  • Sydney Therien - BSAC
  • Sofia Fardella - BWIG
  • William Onuscheck - BPAG

Advisor and Client

  • Prof. John Puccinelli - Advisor
  • Dr. Micah Long - Client

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