The School of Medical Sciences (SMS) of the University of Cape Coast (UCC) has taken delivery of a robotic patient (SimMan 3G) worth $180,000 to help students practice their diagnostic skills.
The SimMan 3G is a long-lasting patient simulator designed for high-quality simulation training in various medical procedures and patient scenarios.
The SimMan 3G, first to be used by a university in Ghana and West Africa, is a life-sized model that talks, breathes, and reacts to medicines in the same way as a real human.
The robotic patient, which is yet to be given a name, can be examined for blood pressure and can be programmed to have a range of conditions from heart disease to constipation.
A medical student conducting diagnostic skills on the robotic patient
It has a pulse with pupils constricting when light is directed towards it and reacts to drugs as humans do. Technicians and faculty members of the School received a 3-day training on the operation of the robotic patient by Dr. Rod Campbell, a Simulation Specialist from Survival Technology in South Africa.
In an interview, the Dean of SMS, Prof. Sebastian Eliason, said medical students of the School were introduced to clinical practice before exposure to patient care.
He said the School would take care of the mannequin to prolong its lifespan.
Prof Eliason appealed to university management, as well as benevolent organisations and individuals, to support the school with more such mannequins.
Source: Documentation and Information Section-UCC