By Renee Worthing

Staff Writer

Inside the LifeFlight Foundation Human Patient Simulator vehicle parked next to the Kennebunk Fire Department, a 50-year-old patient was sweating, pale and complaining of weakness and chest pain.

Kennebunk Paramedic Keith Stuart leaned close to the man’s face to ask his name.

“Stan,” the man answered in a weak and distressed voice.

“What’s going on, Stan?” Stuart, a paramedic for 15 years asked. “How are you feeling?”

As Stan explained his symptoms, Stuart and his fellow paramedics Bill Van Deinse and Robert Sked launch into action.

The “man,” Stan D. Ardman, spelled out – “standard man,” is a computerized human patient simulator (HPS), but to the paramedics, he is a living, breathing human who is having a heart attack.

The paramedics monitored Stan’s blood pressure, pulse and oxygen saturation on a computer screen mounted nearby.

The Kennebunk paramedics were participating in last week’s Lifeflight Foundations Human Patient Simulator Program inside a large recreational vehicle reconfigured as a hospital emergency room.

Video cameras mounted on the ceiling transmitted streaming video to a computer screen in the backroom where HPS Manager and Clinical Database Administrator Rick Simpson provided the voice for Stan through a microphone. He also monitored various computer screens that displayed Stan’s vital signs and other critical information.

When Stan’s condition began to deteriorate, Stuart’s brow creased with concern. The paramedics reassessed Stan’s vital signs. Stan’s heartbeat did not register on the screen. The emergency team shocked Stan’s heart with an automated external defibrillator.

When they inserted intravenous lines in Stan’s rubber arms to administer simulated fluids, Simpson, listening through headphones, turned to a computer screen. From a computer menu, he chose the intravenous saline infusion option at the rate the paramedics indicated.

A computer analyzed the treatments specified by the paramedics – and entered into the computer by Simpson, causing Stan to react as if he was human patient. The reaction was positive. Stan’s vital signs stabilized and his robotic brown eyes opened.

Stuart looked up at HPS Instructor Sam Schaab who was quietly observing.

“Oh, yeah, we were on the way to Maine Med a long time ago,” Stuart said with a smile.

The computer screen that displayed Stan’s vital signs flashed a new message.

“SUCCESS! The patient is hospitalized for three days and then discharged home,” it reads.

The paramedics stepped back from Stan.

“This is as real as it can get,” Stuart said.

Schaab offered positive feedback on the team’s performance.

“Great job with recognition (of symptoms),” Schaab said.

He also congratulated them for working well together as a team and encouraged them to remain confident in their assessment skills.

Stan D. Ardman, is one of three computerized mannequins used by LifeFlight Foundation for training purposes. Child and infant simulators are also used.

“There are now 2,000 human patient simulators worldwide,” Simpson said, adding the military is the biggest consumer.

Simpson said it was interesting to watch the reactions of the paramedics from the back room.

“At first they have a hard time treating Stan like he is a real person,” Simpson said. “But, suddenly, you see the worry on their face and hear the decisions they make. Stan becomes a real person to them.”

The LifeFlight Foundation HPS travels throughout Maine in order to allow emergency personnel to practice their critical thinking, assessment and team performance skills.

Preconfigured computer programs enable the HPS to simulate countless medical emergencies, including drowning, burning, anaphylaxis, diabetic coma, gastrointestinal bleeds, chronic heart failure and multi-system trauma.

The life-size HPS also has life-like features including eyes that blink and react to light. It “breathes,” has a heartbeat and pulse, can excrete fluids from its eyes, mouth and ears, “bleeds” from six arterial sites and responds to CPR, intravenous medications, intubation and ventilation, and other medical intervention.

After Stan was saved from the heart attack, Simpson chose a computer program to simulate the injuries of an unrestrained car accident victim.

Stan’s chest is smeared with color to simulate bruising and mock blood is applied to his face.

Once again, the paramedics have the opportunity to practice life-saving techniques.

Stan suddenly stopped breathing, despite his “good lung sounds” moments earlier. The team determined Stan’s injuries included a collapsed left lung. Stuart inserted a breathing tube into Stan’s throat and administered oxygen while Van Deinse staunched the flow of simulated blood from Stan’s “broken” legs.

Stuart’s team was successful in saving Stan again.

Stuart said it was his first time participating in the HPS program and he was happy for the opportunity.

“We don’t do calls like that often,” he said. “Most calls are ‘I don’t feel good’ calls.”

He was pleased with his performance during the scenarios.

“You just have to make sure your head is in the game,” he said. “It’s also about the experience you have.”

Paramedics must participate in ongoing training and renew their license every three years. Paramedics who participate in the LifeFlight Foundation HPS program earn credit hours for their participation and are awarded certificates of completion.

Funding for the vehicle and its equipment came from a $3 million transportation bond in 2003 and $200,000 from the federal Department of Transportation.

Simpson said the RV is owned by the Maine Department of Transportation and the LifeFlight foundation was awarded the operation and instruction of the program.