TissueDB/Simulators/Neonatal ETT Ultrasound Simulator (Qaim Ali)

The Neonatal ETT Ultrasound Simulator is a low-cost ultrasound phantom for training point-of-care ultrasound identification of tracheal versus esophageal endotracheal tube placement in a newborn. The original phantom recipe was described by Seguin and Tessaro in 2017.^[1] Merali et al. adapted the phantom for a neonatal ultrasound protocol,^[2] and Qaim Ali et al. later used the neonatal configuration for provider training and evaluation.^[3] The simulator is a beef-gelatin and psyllium-fibre block containing two staggered cored lumens that reproduce the ultrasound geometry of the trachea and esophagus.

This build has three distinct source roles:

• Seguin and Tessaro 2017 — original phantom and quantitative recipe.
• Merali et al. 2019 — neonatal ultrasound protocol/adaptation.
• Qaim Ali et al. 2020 — provider training and evaluation.

Do not collapse these into one source or attribute the original recipe to Merali or Qaim Ali.

Use the quantitative recipe reported by Seguin and Tessaro:

• 90 mL beef gelatin powder
• 60 mL orange psyllium fibre
• 500 mL boiling water

Step 1. Bring or maintain the required water at boiling temperature for preparation.

Step 2. Combine 90 mL beef gelatin powder and 60 mL orange psyllium fibre with 500 mL boiling water using the source method.

Step 3. Mix the materials until the phantom mixture is prepared for moulding.

Step 4. Pour the mixture into the mould or container used to form the phantom block.

Step 1. Place the filled mould in refrigeration at 4 °C.

Step 2. Refrigerate the block overnight.

Timing boundary: overnight refrigeration is a source-supported setting period. It is not the complete simulator build time. Preparation, lumen formation and setup time are not given as a single total, so the canonical Build Time remains `-`.

After the block has set, use a cut syringe barrel as the coring tool.

Source discrepancy — preserve explicitly:

• Seguin and Tessaro 2017 use a 10 mL syringe.
• Merali et al. 2019 Methods specifies a 5 mL syringe.
• Merali et al. 2019 Figure 1 depicts a cut-off 10 mL syringe.

These source states are inconsistent.

Do not rewrite this discrepancy as:

• "either syringe works";
• "5 mL and 10 mL are equivalent";
• a universal preferred syringe size; or
• an author-confirmed correction.

No such equivalence or preference has been established.

Step 1. Core the upper lumen that represents the tracheal position, following the source-specific configuration being reproduced.

Step 2. Retain the gelatin plug expelled during lumen formation.

Step 3. Core the second lumen below and offset from the first to represent the esophageal position.

The two lumens are staggered rather than directly superimposed.

Use the retained gelatin plug to change the ultrasound configuration of the lower lumen.

Insert or remove the plug according to the source training configuration being demonstrated.

The purpose is to allow the same block to present sonographic appearances used for recognising tracheal versus esophageal tube placement.

Qaim Ali et al. used:

• a Philips Lumify 12-2 MHz linear transducer; and
• a Samsung Galaxy Tab A.

Scan the model transversely as described by the training protocol.

The current page's approximately 2.5 cm scan-depth description belongs to the ultrasound-use configuration; it is not a fabrication dimension for the tissue block.

Qaim Ali et al. evaluated provider training using the simulator.

The study supports improvement in provider simulator-test performance.

Participants also had opportunities to practise ultrasound with intubated NICU patients.

However, the study does not establish that:

• simulator-acquired localization skill transferred to measured newborn clinical performance;
• patient outcomes improved;
• ultrasound replaced clinical confirmation standards; or
• the gelatin–psyllium block has histologic tissue fidelity.

Do not present a formal pass/fail fabrication-verification checklist as if Seguin, Merali or Qaim Ali published one.

A builder can visually inspect the block and confirm that two distinct lumens can be scanned, but such checks are TissueDB editorial buildability observations unless directly stated as author-prescribed acceptance criteria.

The source family characterizes the simulator as inexpensive/low-cost.

No verified source-backed absolute total whole-build price is available in the current reconciliation.

Therefore:

Cost = `-`

Do not restore the previous approximately US$2 value as a canonical source cost without direct source evidence establishing that whole-build amount.

• The upper lumen represents Trachea in this simulator.
• The lower lumen represents Esophagus in this simulator.
• Gelatin and psyllium form the surrounding ultrasound phantom medium.
• These relationships are context-bounded to this specific cored-block configuration.
• Do not generalize Gelatin + Psyllium into a universal Trachea or Esophagus surrogate relationship.
• Do not describe the phantom as reproducing histologic airway or esophageal tissue.
• The cut syringe barrel is a fabrication tool, not anatomy.
• The gelatin plug is a configuration component, not a separate tissue.
• Water is a recipe ingredient and does not become a TissueDB Materials page.
• No Structure implementation is introduced by this correction.