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TissueDB/Simulators/Cricothyrotomy Simulator (White UW)

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▼This page was built from limited source data.Build instructions are derived from the secondary description given by D'Auria & Persia (2014) because the full text of the three primary publications by White et al. (2012 IEEE GHTC; 2013 AAO-HNSF Annual Meeting; 2014 Journal of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery) was not accessible at the time of page creation. STL specifications for the 3D-printed neck skeleton, foam grade and dimensions for the tracheal cartilaginous rings, cardboard tracheal-tube dimensions, and bicycle-inner-tube specifications are not recoverable from the secondary source and are flagged OPEN pending primary-source access. Editors with access to any of the White publications — or to the 2018 follow-on paper by Bly et al. (IEEE Xplore document 8607980) — are invited to fill these gaps. Build instructions and material specifications may be incomplete. If you have access to the source publication, please help improve this page.


General Information

Anatomical reference: laryngeal structures (1) thyroid cartilage, (2) cricothyroid ligament, (3) cricoid cartilage, (4) trachea, with (A) cricothyrotomy and (B) tracheostomy access points labelled. Image by PhilippN, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons; based on Gray's Anatomy plate 951.

This is a low-cost procedural-skill trainer for emergency cricothyrotomy from the University of Washington BioRobotics Laboratory, documented secondarily in D'Auria & Persia (2014) §2 (the White et al. primary publications were not accessed). It comprises a 3D-printed cricoid-and-thyroid cartilage assembly with a mobile cricothyroid joint, a thin cardboard tracheal tube and compliant-foam tracheal rings carrying conductive-foil contact sensors, and a bicycle-inner-tube skin.

Field Details
General Information A low-cost cricothyrotomy skill trainer that emphasises palpation and correct identification of anterior neck anatomy; conductive-foil contact sensors at six neck landmarks, wired to an Arduino, detect instrument contact during the procedure. Compiled here from the secondary description in D'Auria & Persia, IEEE IRI 2014 §2 — the White et al. primary publications were not accessed. The Activity Detection Engine extension is documented at TissueDB/Simulators/Cricothyrotomy Simulator (D'Auria).
Features and Basic Operation The trainee palpates the cricothyroid membrane through the bicycle-inner-tube skin, then performs the cricothyrotomy on the cervical-anatomy stack. Conductive-foil sensors at six neck landmarks register each instrument contact and feed an Arduino (with an 8×8 LED display), so instrument placement against the correct and incorrect landmarks can be recorded during the attempt.
Current Development Status Secondary-sourced documentation; the White et al. primary publications (2012 IEEE GHTC; 2013 AAO-HNSF; 2014 Journal of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery) were not accessed, and the simulator is not independently validated on this page.
Estimated Build Time and Cost Not specified in source., Under US$50
Specialized Tools and Equipment Scalpel, tracheal hook, and hemostat — the user-supplied procedure instruments (per D'Auria & Persia 2014, §2.1–2.2).
Version As described in the secondary source, D'Auria & Persia (2014).
Development Team Contact Information White, Bly, D'Auria, Aghdasi, Bartell, Cheng and Hannaford — BioRobotics Laboratory, University of Washington, Seattle, USA (per White et al., 2012–2014).

Tissues

Tissue Qty Material Cost Notes
Skin 1 segment Bicycle inner tube segment — Cutaneous layer draped over the skeleton; the trainee must palpate through it to locate the membrane. Inner-tube size and grade not specified in source.
Cartilage (thyroid and cricoid) 1 set 3D-printed ABS plastic, with a mobile cricothyroid joint — Rigid laryngeal landmarks for palpation and cricothyroid-membrane identification. STL files held by the originating authors; print settings not specified in source.
Cartilage (tracheal rings) — Compliant foam — Soft rings simulating the tracheal cartilage, covered with conductive-foil sensor strips. Foam grade and ring count not specified in source.
Trachea 1 tube Thin cardboard tube — Airway wall carrying conductive-foil sensor strips. Tube diameter, wall thickness, and length not specified in source.


Structural Parts

Part Name Qty Material Cost Notes
Arduino microcontroller board 1 Arduino Uno board (Atmel Atmega 328; 8×8 LED matrix display) — Reads the conductive-foil contact signals from the six sensor zones. The Activity Detection Engine overlay is documented at TissueDB/Simulators/Cricothyrotomy Simulator (D'Auria).
Conductive foil sensor strips 6 Conductive foil (grade not specified in source) — Applied at six neck landmarks; only the midline cricothyroid-membrane zone is the correct incision site. The landmark map is in the build steps.
Wiring harness 1 set Electrical wire (gauge not specified in source) — Connects the six foil contact zones to the Arduino inputs.
Wooden base 1 Wood — Fixes the cartilage skeleton and supports the trachea model (per D'Auria & Persia 2014, §2.1).


Build Instructions

Phase 1: Print the Cartilage Skeleton

  1. Print the cricoid and thyroid cartilages as a single rigid ABS assembly with a mobile cricothyroid joint. STL geometry, print settings, infill, supports, and ABS grade are not recoverable from the accessible secondary source (D'Auria & Persia, 2014)[1] and remain OPEN pending access to the White et al. primary publications.
  2. Fix the printed cartilages to a wooden base so they firmly support the trachea model.

Phase 2: Prepare the Tracheal Tube and Foam Rings


Compliant foam material. White et al. (per D'Auria & Persia 2014 §2) describe using compliant foam of this type for the tracheal cartilaginous rings.
  1. Obtain a thin cardboard tube to serve as the tracheal wall. Tube inner diameter, wall thickness, and length are not specified in accessible source.
  2. Cut compliant-foam strips for the tracheal cartilaginous rings and attach them to the tube with appropriate spacing. Foam grade, ring count, and spacing are not specified in accessible source.
  3. Apply conductive-foil strips to the six contact zones labelled A–F per D'Auria & Persia (2014) Figure 2: (A) posterior tracheal wall; (B) right and (D) left lateral trachea and cricothyroid membrane; (C) midline cricothyroid membrane (only correct incision site); (E) cricoid cartilage; (F) lower tracheal cartilaginous ring.

Phase 3: Assemble and Wire the Model


Bicycle inner tube. White et al. (per D'Auria & Persia 2014 §2) describe draping a segment of inner tube as the skin layer over the assembled cervical-anatomy stack.
  1. Assemble the ABS cartilage skeleton, cardboard tracheal tube, and foam cartilaginous rings into the cervical-anatomy stack on the wooden base.
  2. Drape a segment of bicycle inner tube over the assembled stack to form the skin layer. Inner-tube size, grade, and tensioning method are not specified in accessible source.


Arduino Uno R3 microcontroller board (Atmel ATmega328 microprocessor). White et al. describe using this board class to read the six conductive-foil contact zones via a matrix-scanning topology (D'Auria & Persia 2014 §2).
  1. Connect each of the six conductive-foil contact zones (A–F) to inputs on an Arduino microcontroller board. Wiring harness layout is not specified in accessible source.
  2. The Activity Detection Engine overlay — D'Auria & Persia (2014) Cyber-Physical-System extension — is documented separately at TissueDB/Simulators/Cricothyrotomy Simulator (D'Auria).


Checkpoint: Assembly Verification

  • Palpate: thyroid cartilage, cricothyroid membrane, and cricoid cartilage identifiable through the bicycle-inner-tube skin — pass/fail
  • Sensor continuity: touch each of the six foil zones (A–F) in turn and verify the Arduino registers contact — pass/fail
  • Mobile joint: the cricothyroid joint flexes under palpation — pass/fail

No Creative Commons licensed figure of this simulator is currently available. Secondary description figures in D'Auria & Persia (2014) are © IEEE All Rights Reserved. Readers with access to the White et al. 2012, 2013, or 2014 primary publications, or to the 2018 follow-on paper by Bly et al. (IEEE Xplore document 8607980), are invited to verify licensing and contribute a compatible image.



References

[1][2][3][4][5]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 D'Auria D, Persia F. "Automatic evaluation of medical doctors' performances while using a cricothyrotomy simulator." 2014 IEEE 15th International Conference on Information Reuse and Integration (IRI 2014), Redwood City, CA, 13–15 August 2014:514–519. DOI: 10.1109/IRI.2014.7051932.
  2. ↑ White L, Bly R, D'Auria D, Aghdasi N, Bartell P, Cheng L, Hannaford B. "Cricothyrotomy simulator with computational skill assessment for procedural skill training in the developing world." AAO-HNSF Annual Meeting and OTO Expo. 2013. DOI: 10.1177/0194599813495815a83.
  3. ↑ White L, Bly R, D'Auria D, Aghdasi N, Bartell P, Cheng L, Hannaford B. "Cricothyrotomy simulator with computational skill assessment for procedural skill training in the developing world." Journal of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery. 2014. (Citation as reported in D'Auria & Persia (2014); independent verification of this publication venue remains outstanding.)
  4. ↑ White L, D'Auria D, Bly R, Bartell P, Aghdasi N, Jones C, Hannaford B. "Cricothyrotomy simulator training for the developing word" [sic]. 2012 IEEE Global Humanitarian Technology Conference (GHTC), Seattle, WA, October 2012.
  5. ↑ Aghdasi N, Bly R, White LW, Hannaford B, Moe K, Lendvay TS. "Crowd-sourced assessment of surgical skills in cricothyrotomy procedure." Journal of Surgical Research. 2015 Jun 15. DOI: 10.1016/j.jss.2015.03.018. PMID 25888499; PMC5945282. Validation methodology reference.




Simulator data
Alternative names UW BioRobotics Cricothyrotomy Simulator
White Cricothyrotomy Trainer



Page data
Keywords cricothyrotomy, CICO, emergency airway, surgical simulation, University of Washington, BioRobotics, White, low-cost simulator, developing world, conductive foil, Arduino, TissueDB
SDG
Authors Arturopelayo
License CC-BY-SA-4.0
Language English (en)
Related 0 subpages, 6 pages link here
Redirects TissueDB/Simulators/White UW Cricothyrotomy Simulator
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Created April 17, 2026 by Arturo Pelayo
Last edit June 3, 2026 by Arturo Pelayo
Cite as Arturopelayo (2026). "TissueDB/Simulators/Cricothyrotomy Simulator (White UW)". Appropedia. Retrieved June 4, 2026.
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