April 2022 - SEM Trainers

The Purpose of Intubation & How Manikins Minimize Potential Risks

We live in a world where immediate, urgent care is at our fingertips. It is now easier to save lives. This couldn’t have been done without the use of medical manikins in training medical aspirants. The benefits of simulation training are manifold. Today, we will discuss the purpose of intubation and the role of medical manikins in reducing the risks associated with it.

What is Endotracheal Intubation?

If you have been the unfortunate victim of a brutal accident and cannot breathe, one of the first things the paramedic or healthcare professional will do is intubation. The ultimate purpose of this procedure is to save lives when people can’t breathe. In this procedure, the paramedic will guide an endotracheal tube (ETT) into your mouth/nose, voicebox, and then the trachea(the windpipe) after locating your vocal cords through a laryngoscope, which is a small instrument with a light. Since you won’t be able to breathe naturally, this tube will hold the airway open so that air can get to your lungs. Essentially, intubation is used to help a person breathe when he can’t breathe on his own regardless of whether it’s the result of an injury. It is usually performed in the hospital, during an emergency, or before surgery.

Risks Associated with Intubation (and the role of manikins)

Keeping in mind that it is an emergency procedure, and that an entire tube is guided through to the trachea, there are some risks involved:

The person’s teeth may be injured due to the forces applied to the maxillary incisors during the process
There may be an injury to the throat or the trachea
Too much fluid may build up in organs or tissues
There may be bleeding
Occasionally, it can cause a lung complication or injury
Acids and other contents from the stomach may end up in the lungs (this is called aspiration). The person may inhale vomit, blood, or other fluids
A person may develop an infection, like a sinus infection
Endobronchial intubation: The tube may further go down one of the two bronchi
Esophageal intubation: The tube may go down your esophagus (the food pipe) instead of the trachea
Finally, the intubation might not even work

As a beginner proceeds to perform this on a manikin, he is more relaxed and focussed, and less afraid of the consequences of a mistake. These days, we have manikins with incredibly lifelike anatomical landmarks that respond to the process and also give real-time feedback for incorrect intubation. For this procedure, at least, learners cannot be given the opportunity to practice by operating on real patients, given the number and intensity of risks involved.

If you want to purchase professional-quality intubation manikins for your training programs, look no further. At SEM Trainers, we deliver state-of-the-art manikins to help you with your training needs:

Intubation Head for CPR

This head packed with lifelike anatomical details helps practice a full range of airway management techniques. It helps in double nasotracheal intubation, bag and mask ventilation techniques, supraglottic devices, direct laryngoscopy, endotracheal tube insertion, awake fiber optic examination, and combi tube insertion.

Nasogastric Intubation Model

This one comes with a median section through the nose, mouth, pharynx, trachea, esophagus, and stomach, giving your learners a better idea of what’s happening. It also includes a tracheostoma to show endotracheal aspiration.

Child Intubation Head

Manikin of a 3-year-old for training nasal and oral intubation skills. This one comes with inflatable lungs and stomach, and anatomical landmarks.

Endotracheal Intubation Simulator

Endotracheal intubation is an extremely skilled procedure and carries the most risks. That is why you should first train your learners on this simulator before going on to real patients. It helps practice oral and nasal tracheal intubation, use of the laryngoscope, securing airways, handling supraglottic airway devices, and determining ventilation and accidental oesophageal intubation among others.

Infant Intubation Head

An infant manikin for the practice of nasal and oral intubation skills on an infant. Like the child intubation head, this comes with inflatable lungs and stomach, and anatomical landmarks.

Advanced Infant Intubation Head with Board

With its new skin technology, exceptional durability, and lifelike appearance (and a lightweight stand), this makes for an excellent manikin for pediatric airway training. What’s advanced about this one, you ask? Well, with the new material, the airway won’t tear up, and you won’t have to take it for costly repairs every time a student makes a mistake. And because this new skin is translucent, you will be able to see the airway and neck illuminate.

Medical Manikins: 7 Things to Keep in Mind While Buying Them

The introduction of simulation into how we approach medical training has remarkably revolutionized the field, to say the least. Not only are medical manikins extremely realistic and lifelike with realistic anatomy, they help provide hands-on experience by minimizing the risk of operating on real patients while also building critical communication and decision making skills.

Once you have decided to purchase medical manikins for your training program, there are a few things to consider so that you end up getting nothing but the best.

Price and Budget of Medical Manikins

While it would undoubtedly be perfect if everyone could always just get the state-of-the-art high-fidelity ones, it is not always possible because of budgeting constraints. At SEM Trainers, the most ardent medical manikins supplier in India, we give you dozens of options to choose from, no matter what your budget is.

One question you need to ask yourself is whether it’s the best idea to buy one rather costly medical manikin or to split that budget across the lab. You also want to avoid paying for advanced features that you don’t need, and that will probably end up never being used.

And then there is the cost of training, installation, warranty, and service fees. When it comes to price, you will have to make the decision keeping in mind the features that you need so that the manikin can fulfill the purpose of your training without burning holes in your pocket.

Functionality of Medical Manikins

Does the manikin come with the basic features you need for the training? Does it come with any extra features? What are the benefits of one over the other? What skills will the learner be able to take home? While manikins may have been huge in the past, with time, they have gotten smaller and lighter. You’re good to go as long as you know what you need-your specific requirements. And as an instructor, you know best what you need the manikin to be able to do.

And it just doesn’t make sense to purchase incredibly advanced manikins with features you will never need- a simulator that you will only use to around half its potential. Sometimes, you can just get the basic manikin and buy that extra part/feature separately. Like if you need your students to learn to place a catheter and get proper fluid return, you can either get the manikin that provides all that, or just the basic model with the arm purchased separately. This also frees up money to be spent on other necessities.

Delivery Time

Once you have made your decision, you need to make sure to order in time. High-quality medical manikins from top foreign brands can take some time to reach you. At SEM Trainers, we are devoted to getting these to you as soon as possible, but it’s always a good idea to order your manikins well in advance.

Long-Term Equipment Maintenance Costs

Medical manikins are a commitment. Just purchasing the right manikins won’t be all, you’ll need to regularly maintain them to avoid having to buy new ones because your old ones keep getting dysfunctional. You will want to look for manikins that are easy to maintain, wash, and clean.

Size and Weight

Make this decision according to your needs. If you will be traveling with the manikin a lot, it won’t make sense to lug around a heavy manikin. So, you will need one that is lightweight. But if it will stay in one place, you may want to trade weight for durability.

Feedback Mechanism

Depending on what skills you intend to teach with the help of the manikin, it should be a manikin with a feedback mechanism that lets you easily read feedback and assess performance.

Material of Medical Manikins

Some people may be allergic to latex. If you are worried about that, you may be better off investing in latex-free medical manikins.

We hope you will keep these factors in mind when making your next purchase. Although some factors may depend on your specific needs, in the end, the manikin you pick out should be trustworthy and reliable. And at SEM Trainers, the leading medical manikins supplier in India, we make sure you go home with nothing but the best.

Find out the top 7 CPR Manikins best suitable for Emergency CPR training.