Mapping Human Tissue Biomechanics for Advanced Medical Training Technologies
Insights from first-of-its-kind scoping review
In Queensland, Australia, a pioneering team conducted a scoping review, a first-of-its-kind exploration which delved into the biomechanics of human tissues within published literature.
The scoping review acts as a guidepost for the team's forthcoming research endeavours aimed at designing high-fidelity medical skills trainers.
Medical skills trainers, whether physical or virtual, serve as pivotal educational tools for clinicians to master procedural skills. Traditionally, clinicians learned procedures directly on patients, but these trainers offer a safe environment for practicing procedures, reducing potential harm during the learning curve.
Yet, concerns have surfaced regarding the haptic fidelity of these trainers. An issue arises wherein trainee clinicians might inadvertently acquire incorrect techniques due to limitations in the trainer's realism, potentially posing risks to patients and elongating overall training duration.
This limitation in haptic fidelity likely stems from the subjective selection of synthetic materials during trainer construction.
At present, definitive standards or comprehensive compilations of biomechanical measurements sourced from human specimens remain absent. Hence, this scoping review aimed to unearth quantitative biomechanical measurements of human tissues, explore methodologies employed in acquiring these measurements, and illuminate the primary drivers behind conducting biomechanical research.
The scoping review marks an initial step toward the team’s ultimate goal: developing highly realistic medical skills trainers founded on directly measured biomechanical properties from human tissues:
"Our scoping review not only offers valuable biomechanical properties of human tissues for aligning with synthetic materials but also identifies specific tissue areas lacking in biomechanical property data. It sheds light on the methods of measuring these properties and highlights gaps in biomechanical research, contributing significantly to the field's knowledge for further exploration."
The scoping review is available in the December 2023 issue of JBI Evidence Synthesis.