The Use of Sensorized Breast Models for Clinical Skills Assessment
Almost every time a doctor sees a patient, they touch them. But how is this sense of touch taught and ultimately assessed? What are doctors feeling for? Are they using the right amount of pressure? With the use of a sensor-embedded breast model, the tactile characteristics of performance can be measured and assessed. Data collected from over 500 clinicians performing a clinical breast exam has been collected and is being analyzed to characterize what hands-on techniques yield the best results (i.e. whether or not an embedded mass is found). Simulation models such as this have the potential to improve the way hands-on examinations are both taught and assessed throughout a physician’s career, ultimately improving the standard of patient care.
Focus Areas
Project Leader
K. Craig Kent
Professor
- Department/Unit
- Surgery
- School or College
- School of Medicine and Public Health