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Bronchoscopy Training Device

Bronchoscopies are procedures used to explore a patient’s airway and insert endotracheal tubes before surgery and in emergency procedures. In order to successfully complete these procedures on patients, bronchoscope users must first be trained in all the maneuvers of the scope and in recognizing the anatomy of the path the scope will be following. The Winter Institute for Simulation, Education, and Research (WISER) at the University of Pittsburgh is a training facility where students can learn the bronchoscopy procedure; however, WISER does not have trainers to prepare students for all situations.

Problem Statement

WISER needs a new bronchoscopy trainer that is a step between the towel-covered wooden block with a clock and the patient simulation. This solution must be portable and less expensive than current bronchoscopy trainers on the market and provide trainees with the opportunity to practice in an airway with abnormalities, such as size and occlusions.

Design Requirements:

To meet the needs of WISER, the new trainer should:​

  • Come in pediatric models and adult models

  • Be equivalent to 18-22 cm in length to simulate the trachea

  • Contain or have the option to contain abnormalities 

  • Make the user rely on the scope for visualization

  • Require the user to combine skills to progress through the trainer

Prototype Iterations

First Prototype

Initial Three-Box Prototype

Alternate Prototype

Initial Trachea-Wheel Prototype

Refined Prototype

Refined Trachea-Wheel Prototype

Further Refined Prototype

Further Refinement to Trachea-Wheel Prototype

Further Refined Prototype

Further Refinement to Trachea-Wheel Prototype

Final Prototype

Final Prototype of Trachea-Wheel

Final Prototype

Final Prototype of Trachea-Wheel Container

Trainer Use:

To use the trainer, the instructor can select the desired trachea without the student knowing which one was chosen. The student inserts the bronchoscope through the mouth funnel and proceeds through the selected tube until the colored end of the tube is reached.

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Techniques Applied:

  • Laser cutting: acrylic for the box and the trachea wheel

  • Vacuum forming: HIPS for the mouth funnel

  • 3D printing: nGen for the mouth funnel original copy and PLA for the wave obstacle

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Novel Features:

  • Wave obstacle trachea

  • Feather trachea

  • Modularity by wheel rotation

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