Fiona Greenyer

An online training tool has launched that can quickly teach nurses and doctors how to operate ventilators under the direction of an intensive care consultant. FundamentalVR worked with Imperial College and donated the tool in the hopes of helping combat the issues currently being seen with ventilator training. The new online tool, developed by Imperial College London, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust and FundamentalVR, allows redeployed clinicians to gain the key knowledge they need for ventilating patients in just 30 minutes. The training consists of a show how-to video that teaches the essentials of operating ventilators. Clinicians can use the tool on their smartphones at home or in real-time as they care for patients, enabling them to begin running ventilators immediately under the supervision of an intensive care consultant. It can be accessed for free by any clinician across the world, regardless of health system or specialism. Professor Ara Darzi, co-director of the Institute of Global Health Innovation at Imperial College London, which is leading the project at Imperial, said: “It takes years to specialise a clinician in intensive care; while this new training course is not designed to replace this expertise, it will enable health systems across the world [...]

Intelligent Ultrasound Group, the ultrasound artificial intelligence (AI) software and simulation company, has announced its BodyWorks Point-of-Care (PoCUS) Ultrasound simulator, with its newly released free COVID-19 lung ultrasound module, has been made available in the emergency simulation centre that has been set up at the NHS Nightingale Hospital at London’s ExCel centre. To help in the fight against COVID-1,9 the BodyWorks training simulator combined with staff operating on-site at The Nightingale, are helping train clinicians to rapidly acquire and practice lung ultrasound skills. Lung ultrasound has major utility for the management of respiratory related COVID-19 infection due to its safety, repeatability, absence of radiation, low cost and point of care use. It is also relatively easy to disinfect compared to alternative imaging modalities. As well as the NHS Nightingale, the company has also remotely upgraded over 30 of its BodyWorks PoCUS training simulators with the new training module in hospitals in the UK, USA, Europe and Asia. The BodyWorks COVID-19 module is provided free of charge for all existing and new BodyWorks PoCUS customers and will help with the training of healthcare professionals working in the front line of this global emergency.