The use of a novel sensorized simulation platform for real-time labor progression assessment.

OBJECTIVE: To prove the potentialities of an integrated and sensorized childbirth platform as an innovative simulator for education of inexperienced gynecological and obstetrical medical students. METHODS: A total of 152 inexperienced medical students were recruited to a simulation program on labor progression evaluation. After an introductory lecture on basic concepts of labor and birth given by an expert gynecologist, three different gynecologic scenarios were simulated using both a traditional obstetric simulator and the innovative proposed platform, for a total of six tests for each student. A score was assigned for each performed scenario, based on its correctness. Self-assessment questionnaires were compiled before and after the simulation program for additional subjective assessment. RESULTS: Median score of the simulations performed with our platform was significantly higher than that of the simulations performed with a traditional simulator, for all the three experimented scenarios (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The use of a sensorized platform for labor progression allowed for an accurate and faster diagnosis if compared with a traditional simulator even for inexperienced operators, supporting its use in clinical training, which could be realistically introduced into the clinical practice for medical student education.

Acoustic Coupling Quantification in Ultrasound-Guided Focused Ultrasound Surgery: Simulation-Based Evaluation and Experimental Feasibility Study.

Adequate acoustic coupling between the therapeutic transducer and the patient's body is essential for safe and efficient focused ultrasound surgery (FUS). There is currently no quantitative method for acoustic coupling verification in ultrasound-guided FUS. In this work, a quantitative method was developed and a related metric was introduced: the acoustic coupling coefficient. This metric associates the adequacy of the acoustic coupling with the reflected signals recorded through an imaging probe during a low-energy sonication. The acoustic coupling issue was simulated in silico and validated through in vitro tests. Our results indicated a sigmoidal behavior of the introduced metric as the contact surface between the coupling system and the patient's skin increases. The proposed method could be a safety-check criterion for verifying the adequacy of the acoustic coupling before starting the FUS treatment, thus ensuring efficient energy transmission to the target and preventing damage to both the patient and the instrumentation.