Surgical Airway
Surgical airway management or cricothyroidotomy is done to establish an airway in cases of extreme urgency to secure an airway. Surgical airways form a crucial part of emergency management and are considered the quickest method to obtain a sub-laryngeal airway.Â
This VR simulation for Surgical Airway is designed to help healthcare practitioners practice the procedure of obtaining a surgical airway in a safe and controlled virtual environment with a virtual patient. With both training and assessment modes, learners can perform the procedure and assess themselves on their performance.
- Use standard technique to inflate the cuff and check for leaksÂ
- Visualize the larynx using head tilt / chin lift maneuverÂ
- Develop skills to find and palpate the cricothyroid membraneÂ
- Use clinically approved method to make the skin incision and cut the cricothyroid membraneÂ
- Insert the tracheostomy tube efficiently and secure the device in placeÂ
- Assess the patient after insertion
- McKenna P, Desai NM, Tariq A, Morley EJ. Cricothyrotomy. Treasure Island, FL: StatPearls; 2023.
- Bair AE, Filbin MR, Kulkarni RG, Walls RM. The failed intubation attempt in the emergency department: analysis of prevalence, rescue techniques, and personnel. J Emerg Med. 2002 Aug. 23 (2):131-40.
Customize Your Program
Get rid of the editor. Adopt in-VR customization.
MedVR Education is bringing to you in-VR customization that will enable you to put together your own simulations by making selections from a wide range of feature choices.Â
- Select patient from a diverse backgroundÂ
- Choose preferred virtual environmentÂ
- Select equipment used in the procedure
- Modify difficulty level of the assessment mode
- …..many more to come
- Multi-player
Sessions - Physics-based Interaction
Core Skills Training
Performing Surgical Airway
As a part of this Surgical Airway procedure, the user will begin by performing hand hygiene and donning gloves and eyewear. The learner will proceed by palpating the midline of the neck, stabilize the midline structures and identify the cricothyroid membrane. After making a horizontal incision along the cricothyroid membrane, the learner will place the tracheal hook into the tracheal. The learner will then insert the tracheal tube, ensure its correct placement with the balloon within the trachea. The procedure will be complete after the learner confirms the correct placement by the rise and fall of the patient’s chest. All necessary affordances are provided to complete the procedure with efficiency.
Training
With prompts, guidance and affordances learners are hand-held through the process to practice the procedure in a virtual environment with a virtual patient. Â
- Photorealistic virtual environment Â
- Physics-based interactions Â
- Detailed instructions Â
- Adequate affordances to assist in task completion Â
Assessment
Test acquired skills to perform the procedures from start to finish without prompts. An incorrect step will take the learner back to the start to start afresh. Â
- Live scoring Â
- Instant feedback Â
- Adequate affordances for efficient performance Â
- Time tracking to monitor activity completion Â