Medical simulators help train healthcare providers on simulated patients

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Imagine X-RAY vision that allows you to virtually see inside the human body. A locally-based company is building it to help train doctors and other healthcare providers.

The new technology was presented by CAE Healthcare based in Sarasota at a national conference in Orlando. CAE Healthcare president Dr. Robert Amyot said the new medical simulator uses Microsoft's Hololens technology to project 3-D holograms in CAE's patient simulator mannequins.

The user puts a viewing device on their head which allows them to see internal organs and learn treatment procedures.

Amyot said doctors and other healthcare providers can train using the simulators without risk. 

"Because no life is on the line, when they’re good enough and in the real clininical environment, they’re prepared for any situation." Amyot said. 

He said CAE Healthcare has benefited from technology and expertise from CAE U.S.A., based in Tampa, which makes aircraft simulators and trains military pilots from around the world.

Amyot said healthcare simulators are designed for use in hospitals and universities to train new students and sharpen the skills of people already providing health services.

"The great news for folks like you and I, who are consumers of healthcare, is that our students will have worked on simulated patients long before they touch a real human being," said Marisa Belote, an instructor in the physician assistant masters program at the University of Tampa.

Amyot said CAE's medical simulator systems range in price from a few thousand dollars to more than $250,000.