Specialized catheters are critical life-saving tools that allow clinicians to monitor heart performance and blood flow. While clinicians are not often called upon to utilize pulmonary artery catheters (Swan-Ganz catheter) or hemodialysis catheters, they must be able to deploy them both with speed and precision when needed. A Swan-Ganz catheter is utilized when the heart’s left side pressure needs to be measured from its right side. A hemodialysis catheter allows for dialysis to filter a patient’s blood when other methods cannot be used or when dialysis is only needed temporarily. Simulators can help clinicians prepare for life-or-death circumstances where every second counts and there is little to no tolerance for mistakes.
Pulmonary artery catheter simulators do exist but are difficult to acquire and can range from $1,732 to $14,990 in price. Simulators for hemodialysis do not currently exist.
In keeping with this year’s themes of adaptation and resilience, UC Health nurses and CU Anschutz researchers have collaborated to create innovative simulators which are built/3D printed from open access resources and will be posted on the CU Anschutz OER Anatomy Hub under Creative Commons licenses. These simulators will be used in UC Health to train clinicians on proper procedures for using these catheters. Other organizations will be able to 3D print and build them using a provided material list with step-by-step instructions. Attendees will gain understanding of the Swan-Ganz catheter and hemodialysis simulators, where to find their assembly files and instructions, and how they can implement them in their respective departments.
