Look Who's Talking: AI Manikin Provides Lifelike Simulation and Training for Healthcare Students

Published on: May 15, 2024

When it comes to learning how to do a job, nothing beats real, hands-on experience. But in the healthcare field, where the stakes are often literally life or death (or at the very least, life or serious injury), getting practice in real-life scenarios isn't always feasible. 

That's why students preparing for careers in healthcare are trained in specially designed realistic simulations, often using manikins (essentially, a jointed model of the human body and used in healthcare training) to represent patients. These synthetic creations give students the chance to experience working with human patients without having to worry about endangering the health or comfort of a real person.

These manikins are typically designed to be as realistic as possible. But there are certain aspects of dealing with real patients that these manikins can't imitate, like conversing, answering questions about symptoms, expressing facial expressions, and real-time reactions to treatments and tests. To help bridge the gap between manikins and real patients, Husson's Simulation Education Center (SIM Center) has invested in a new artificial intelligence (AI) powered manikin called HAL S5301. Or just "Husson HAL", as known in the Husson community. 

Here, SIM Center director Ghada Konsowa, MBBCH, MBA, CHSOS, explains more about how HAL is helping to prepare students to better serve their patients and how evolving technology will continue to improve healthcare training. 

Inside the SIM Center

Husson's extensive SIM Center, part of the College of Health and Pharmacy, started out as just a simple simulation lab, used primarily by nursing students. Over time, it grew, adding facilities, technology, and trainers, eventually becoming a top-tier center that uses experiential learning to educate healthcare professionals to improve patient care safety and the efficiency of healthcare services. That expansion meant it could serve more students too: the SIM Center currently is home to skill and simulation labs for students studying nursing, physical therapy, occupational therapy, pharmacy and more. In fact, it's used by all students in healthcare divisions, and is even open to students in other areas who may have need of it.

The SIM Center has always been home to a variety of healthcare manikins for healthcare students to train with, with different types offering varying levels of fidelity or realism. They can be low, medium, or high fidelity. Usually, the medium and high fidelity are computer-based manikins controlled with either a laptop or an iPad. Their characteristics and features enable them to mimic human beings' vital signs (heart rate, blood pressure, respiratory rate, and others). HAL is the highest-end and most advanced of the high-fidelity manikins.

"HAL is very, very accurate to human anatomy. With some manikins, even high-fidelity realistic ones, we find that they are not really exact. A bone like the clavicle may be too short, for example. But HAL is 99.9% anatomically correct." Konsowa explains. "Plus, there are so many features which make him unique. He cries, he laughs, he shakes hands. Or if you perform a sternum rub, where you put your fist against the sternum, a technique used with cardiac patients, HAL has a very normal reaction, which is raising hands and trying to push you away. So he provides a much more human-like experience for students."

Building Skills, Empathy and Bedside Manner

HAL is the creation of an outside company specializing in these life-like manikins. Husson's manikin is one of only about 120 being used nationwide, putting Husson and the SIM Center on the cutting edge of healthcare education and training.

While state-of-the-art tech is always exciting, HAL's real value is in what he offers to students. HAL can of course model common ailments and symptoms like headaches or chest pain for students to diagnose, but as a highly realistic manikin, he also provides the perfect subject for students to develop difficult and vital skills on. "IV injection, urinary catheterization, tracheostomy, even a complex scenario like epilepsy, paralysis and extensive injury – he is capable of simulating all of these conditions," says Konsowa. 

But HAL's value goes beyond even training for complicated and dangerous procedures. Because HAL is a cloud-connected artificial intelligence, he is able to react in real-time in unpredictable ways. He can react in discomfort to stimuli, respond to comments in a variety of ways and generally acts like a real patient. As such, in working with him, students are able to practice the soft skills and bedside manner that can separate a great healthcare provider from a merely competent one. 

"It's so important for students to interact with a manikin that has these reactions, like crying," Konsowa says. "It's human life. It's so important to show empathy, that you care. But too often, students or healthcare professionals are brilliant with the material, but unable to really communicate using correct conversation and for sufficient time with patients. Working with HAL, it helps to break the ice and get them to communicate and truly support the patient."

The Future of Healthcare Education

While HAL represents the current peak in healthcare education technology, Konsowa foresees technology continuing to play a critical role in healthcare education and creating truly lifelike simulations for students to work in. In particular, she's excited about the possibilities offered by Immersive Reality (IR), virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and extended reality (XR), especially when combined with intelligent and lifelike manikins like HAL. 

For example, Konsowa envisions the Simulation Hybrid Model to be used more often, where a student could use XR goggles to essentially view HAL's heart while it is beating inside his chest while listening to his heart sounds and utilizing multiple senses to better diagnose and understand him. 

"I'd like to have a combination of everything: AI, virtual reality labs, immersion rooms, everything. When they all work together, it is the utmost reality we can create for students," Konsowa explains. "That realism is important, because the ultimate objective is to prepare students to work in the field in hospitals, pharmacies and healthcare facilities. We're doing all this to enhance, at the end of the day, the standards of healthcare and ensure our graduates are able to provide the best healthcare service."

If you're interested in pursuing a career in healthcare, get the best training on the most impactful technology by studying at Husson. We invite you to apply today or request more info. Whether you hit it off with HAL or make him cry (or both), you can be sure he'll make you a better and more accomplished healthcare provider.