ICENI Centre Takes On New Tech for Surgical Training

The ICENI centre has adopted Inovus Medical’s LapAR and bozzini training systems.

The ICENI Centre’s facilities provides training to some of the UK’s aspiring NHS employees of the future, today’s undergraduates, and clinicians on a career pathway from FY1 through to senior consultants. With the introduction of the very latest laparoscopic and hysteroscopy simulators manufactured and designed by Inovus, the centre will now offer trainees the very latest in hands on laparoscopic and hysteroscopic training.

We need a working, albeit basic, understanding of these new technologies in order to use them. For more on this topic, check out  AI and Digital Transformation: A Non-Technical Intro.

The LapAR system opens the ICENI centre up to a new world of laparoscopic simulation, allowing them to connect with and tutor their trainees. The trainees will also benefit from the augmented reality technology, which will immerse them into real to life simulations and allow them to practise full surgical procedures all while being tracked and recorded by the LapAR technology.

The centre has acquired a number of LapAR take home models, and with the distance learning capabilities of the LapAR cloud-based software platform, the centre will now be equipped to offer trainees the capability of being able to train from home in a safe environment during the current pandemic.

Greg Wynn FRCS Lead Clinical Director, ICENI Centre, Colchester said: “Technical skills simulation has always played a key role in the training pathway for our clinicians, but being able to objectively measure performance is really important. Putting motion-tracking software in a laparoscopic box trainer will allow us to measure technical performance not just on basic skills exercises, but also on a variety of anatomical models that are relevant to clinical practice. This means learners can map their progress to a defined goal, improving compliance. One of the great features of this equipment is the ability of the trainee to take their box away and practice in an environment that they find most comfortable, whilst their data is remotely uploaded to the trainer’s portal. Organising simulation in this way will allow many more training hours to be completed. This is a valuable addition to our simulation suite”.

The centre has also included the purchase of the bozzini Hysteroscopy simulators, which will be used for basic practical skills training within hysteroscopy including tasks such as adhesiolysis and polypectomy. The bozzini systems also allow the trainees to gain valuable camera and basic instrument handling skills. It enables a spectrum of energy and other medical devices to be used in a close-to-life training experience which includes endometrial ablation, polypectomy and myomectomy.