Jump to content

TissueDB/Simulators/Multipurpose Thoracic Simulator (Carter)

From Appropedia
▼This page was built from limited source data.Carter et al. 2010 documents the chest-wall module construction in full (porcine rib rack, IV-fluid bag with injected air, headliner foam, Ioban2 antimicrobial drape) but cross-references the separately published Carter 2009 open-lobectomy thorax model (Carter YM & Marshall MB, Ann Thorac Surg 2009;87:1546) for the Station 2 host, which is not yet staged as a TissueDB page. Gaps the source leaves open: the Carter 2009 thorax internal construction, the covering layer's exact material (the source calls it both "headliner foam" and "thin felt"), Ioban2 SKU and quantity, porcine-rib source/size, Resusci Anne model version, and any per-item costs — the authors call the model low-cost and cost-effective but give no figures. Paper is © 2010 Elsevier Inc.; no Creative Commons–compatible hero image is available. See references. Build instructions and material specifications may be incomplete. If you have access to the source publication, please help improve this page.


The Multipurpose Thoracic Simulator is a bench-top model for practising two fundamental invasive thoracic procedures — thoracentesis and thoracostomy (chest-tube) insertion — on a single modular chest-wall segment shared by both.[1]

Field Details
Features and Basic Operation A single modular chest-wall segment — a porcine rib rack over an air-filled IV-fluid bag, covered with a headliner-foam layer and wrapped in an Ioban2 antimicrobial drape — serves two stations. At Station 1 the module sits in an upright Resusci Anne manikin for thoracentesis; at Station 2 it transfers into a separate simulated thorax (the separately published Carter 2009 model) for chest-tube placement. At each station the trainee first reads paired chest radiographs to identify the indication, then performs the procedure under live supervision.
Current Development Status Evaluated — built and tested with junior trainees, with reported improvement in technical skill.[1]
Estimated Build Time and Cost Not stated in source
Specialized Tools and Equipment Thoracentesis kit (Seldinger technique); chest-tube insertion set (28 French chest tube, a clamp for blunt pleural entry, and suture; the source specifies an incision but not the cutting instrument); upright Resusci Anne manikin (Station 1 host); a separately published simulated thorax model (Carter 2009) for the chest-tube station; paired teaching chest radiographs.
Version Version 1
Development Team Contact Information Yvonne M. Carter, Brette M. Wilson, Erin Hall and M. Blair Marshall, Division of Thoracic Surgery, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC. Corresponding author: Yvonne M. Carter (ymc01@gunet.georgetown.edu, per the 2010 publication).[1]

Tissues

Tissue Qty Material Cost Notes
Bone (ribs) 1 rack (4–5 rib segment) Porcine ribs — Supplies bone density and intercostal spaces so the needle and chest tube pass above a rib, as in the patient. Shared by both stations.[1]
Chest-wall soft tissue 1 sheet Headliner foam — A soft-tissue plane over the ribs that the needle (Station 1) and the chest-tube incision (Station 2) pass through. The source describes this single covering layer inconsistently — "headliner foam" in the body text and "thin felt" elsewhere — and assigns it no anatomical layer; the polyurethane-foam class is inferred and the exact material is routed to Felipe.[1]


Structural Parts

Part Name Qty Material Cost Notes
Air–fluid bag 1 Intravenous-fluid bag with injected air — A bag of intravenous fluid inside the module, made taut with injected air to give it an air–fluid level. At the thoracentesis station the trainee drains its fluid as the pleural effusion. The source calls it a "bag of intravenous fluid", not a tissue — so it is not labelled as pleura — and states no separate role for it at the chest-tube station.[1]
Module sealing wrap Not specified in source Ioban2 antimicrobial drape — The source wraps all components together with the Ioban2 drape so the rib–bag–foam stack holds as a single sealed unit; it is the module's binding and sealing layer (the source calls it a "sealant", not a skin analogue) and the needle and chest tube pass through it.[1]


Build Instructions

Phase 1: Prepare the chest-wall module materials

  1. Obtain a 4–5 rib porcine rib segment covering the chest-wall area (Carter 2010).
  2. Obtain a one-litre intravenous-fluid bag from clinical stores.
  3. Obtain a 1/4 in. (approximately 6 mm) sheet of headliner foam.
  4. Obtain Ioban2 antimicrobial drape (3M Health Care, St. Paul, MN).

Phase 2: Assemble the chest-wall module

  1. Inject approximately 150 mL of air into the IV bag until it is taut with a visible air–fluid level (Carter 2010).
  2. Place the porcine rib segment on top of the air-filled IV bag.
  3. Cover the rib segment with the headliner foam.
  4. Wrap the rib–bag–foam assembly together with the Ioban2 drape, enveloping all components so the drape holds the stack as a single sealed unit (Carter 2010).

✓ Verify: the IV bag is taut with a visible air–fluid level, the rib segment sits over the bag, and the Ioban2 drape fully envelops the stack as one sealed unit.

Phase 3: Install the module for Station 1 — Thoracentesis

  1. Cut an 8 cm × 8 cm defect in the chest of an upright Resusci Anne manikin and seat the module in the defect (Carter 2010). Present the trainee with two chest radiographs (pleural effusion vs. severe atelectasis with lobar collapse) before supplying the thoracentesis kit.

✓ Verify: the module sits in the manikin defect and the chest-wall surface is intact for needle entry.

Phase 4: Install the module for Station 2 — Thoracostomy

  1. Transfer the same chest-wall module into the separately published Carter 2009 open-lobectomy thorax model (Carter YM, Marshall MB, Ann Thorac Surg 2009;87:1546; not yet staged as a dedicated TissueDB page), where it serves as the chest-wall segment (Carter 2010). Present the trainee with two chest radiographs (pneumothorax vs. giant bulla) before supplying the chest-tube insertion set with a 28 French chest tube.

✓ Verify: the module seats in the thorax host and the intercostal spaces remain accessible for tube placement.



References

[1]

  • Carter YM, Marshall MB (2009). "Open lobectomy simulator is an effective tool for teaching thoracic surgical skills." Annals of Thoracic Surgery 87:1546. Cited by Carter 2010 (ref [4]) as the Station 2 thorax host. Not yet staged as a dedicated TissueDB page.
  • Martin JA, Regehr G, Reznick R, et al. (1997). "Objective structured assessment of technical skill (OSATS) for surgical residents." British Journal of Surgery 84:273. Cited by Carter 2010 (ref [5]) as the basis for the trainee-rating scales (which belong in the SELF training module, not this build page).
  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Carter YM, Wilson BM, Hall E, Marshall MB (2010). "Multipurpose Simulator for Technical Skill Development in Thoracic Surgery." Journal of Surgical Research 163(2):186–191. DOI: 10.1016/j.jss.2010.04.051. PMID: 20691997.




Simulator data
Alternative names Carter thoracic simulator
multipurpose thoracic trainer



Page data
Keywords thoracentesis, chest tube insertion, thoracostomy, thoracic simulator, porcine ribs, chest wall module, air-fluid bag, Carter, low-cost simulator, TissueDB
SDG
Authors Arturopelayo
License CC-BY-SA-4.0
Language English (en)
Related 0 subpages, 0 pages link here
Redirects TissueDB/Simulators/Carter Multipurpose Thoracic Simulator
Views 16 page views (analytics)
Created April 12, 2026 by Arturo Pelayo
Last edit June 12, 2026 by Arturo Pelayo
Cite as Arturopelayo (2026). "TissueDB/Simulators/Multipurpose Thoracic Simulator (Carter)". Appropedia. Retrieved June 19, 2026.
API queries basic, semantic, html, files, more
Cookies help us deliver our services. By using our services, you agree to our use of cookies.