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TissueDB/Simulators/Pediatric Front-of-Neck Access Simulator (Kovatch)

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General Information

This simulator trains needle cricothyroidotomy — a front-of-neck emergency airway rescue — on a child-sized airway, using the Ravussin catheter technique. A medical-grade silicone airway (Shore 45 hardness), cast from a mold that is 3D-printed from CT-derived anatomy of a 5-year-old child, sits inside a pediatric head-and-neck mannequin under a synthetic skin overlay. The trainee palpates the thyroid cartilage, cricoid cartilage and cricothyroid membrane through the skin, then punctures the cricothyroid membrane and places the catheter.[1]

Field Details
General Information A low-cost, high-fidelity 3D-printed pediatric airway task trainer from Kovatch et al., Anesthesia & Analgesia 2020. The silicone airway is cast as one piece and embedded in a milled mannequin neck, so the cartilage landmarks and cricothyroid membrane are felt through the skin exactly as in a real front-of-neck access. The model tolerates many needle-cricothyroidotomy repetitions with negligible wear, and the technique can be rescaled for other ages or airway pathologies. See also: Cricothyroidotomy Simulator (Gauger).[1]
Features and Basic Operation A single medical-grade silicone tracheal model, scaled to a 5-year-old child, presents palpable thyroid-cartilage and cricoid-cartilage landmarks and a puncturable cricothyroid membrane. It is embedded in a pediatric mannequin head and neck — milled to seat the airway and to give a palpable hyoid-bone landmark — and covered by a synthetic skin overlay for the outer-neck appearance and landmark palpation. The model is built for repeated needle cricothyroidotomy via the Ravussin catheter technique with negligible wear.[1]
Current Development Status Content validity assessed by 6 expert airway faculty (Kovatch 2020) and rated suitable for needle-cricothyroidotomy training; transfer to patients not tested.[1]
Estimated Build Time and Cost About 6 hours for the silicone cure (60 °C).[1], About US$2.86 (silicone raw materials, Kovatch 2020).[1]
Specialized Tools and Equipment Computer-aided design software (the source used Materialise, but any package that reads a CT-derived model works); a fused-deposition-modelling 3D printer and PLA filament to print the two-part casting mold; an oven able to hold 60 °C for the 6-hour silicone cure; a milling tool to cut the tracheal pocket in the mannequin neck; and a Ravussin catheter set (angulated needle stylet, catheter sheath with an airway-circuit connector, Velcro ties and ventilation tubing) to perform the procedure.[1]
Version Initial published design (Anesth Analg 2020); no later version described in the source.[1]
Development Team Contact Information Kevin J. Kovatch, Allison R. Powell, Kevin Green, Chelsea L. Reighard, Glenn E. Green, Virginia T. Gauger, Deborah M. Rooney and David A. Zopf. Departments of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery, Pediatric Anesthesiology, Learning Health Sciences, and Biomedical Engineering, University of Michigan / Michigan Medicine / C.S. Mott Children's Hospital, Ann Arbor, MI. Corresponding author: David A. Zopf, MD, MS (davidzop@med.umich.edu).[1]

Tissues

Tissue Qty Material Cost Notes
Trachea 1 (silicone cast) Medical-grade silicone, Shore 45 US$2.86 CT-derived child-sized airway: a single molded silicone tracheal model on which the laryngeal cartilages and cricothyroid membrane are felt as landmarks.[1]
Cricothyroid membrane 1 (integral) Medical-grade silicone, Shore 45 — The procedural target for needle cricothyroidotomy; felt and punctured on the single silicone tracheal model, not a separate part.[1]
Thyroid cartilage 1 (integral) Medical-grade silicone, Shore 45 — Palpable laryngeal landmark above the cricothyroid membrane, on the single silicone tracheal model.[1]
Cricoid cartilage 1 (integral) Medical-grade silicone, Shore 45 — Palpable laryngeal landmark below the cricothyroid membrane, on the single silicone tracheal model.[1]
Skin and subcutaneous tissue 1 overlay Synthetic skin overlay — Commercial elastomer overlay (the source used One World DMG) giving the outer neck and landmark palpation; the exact composition is not stated in the source.[1]


Structural Parts

Part Name Qty Material Cost Notes
Pediatric head and neck mannequin 1 Commercial mannequin (brand not stated in source) — Houses the silicone airway in a milled tracheal pocket and carries a palpable hyoid-bone landmark milled into the neck. Not priced in the source.[1]


Build Instructions

Build sequence from Kovatch et al. (2020) Methods.

Phase 1: Design and print the casting mold

  1. Obtain a high-resolution (0.75 mm) computed-tomography scan of a pediatric airway approximating a 5-year-old child.[1]
  2. Build a 3-dimensional model of the trachea from the CT data in CAD software (the source used Materialise).[1]
  3. Design a two-part mold — an external casing plus an internal insert that keeps the airway lumen patent.[1]
  4. Print both mold parts in PLA on a fused-deposition-modelling 3D printer.[1]

Verification: the two mold halves close cleanly around the internal insert with the lumen path clear.

Phase 2: Cast the silicone airway

  1. Mix medical-grade silicone (Shore 45) per the manufacturer's instructions and pour it into the assembled mold.[1]
  2. Cure at 60 °C for 6 hours.[1]
  3. Demould the cured silicone airway after it cools.[1]

Verification: the airway demoulds intact with a patent lumen.

Phase 3: Assemble the trainer

  1. Mill a tracheal pocket into a commercial pediatric head-and-neck mannequin, keeping a palpable hyoid-bone landmark.[1]
  2. Embed the silicone airway in the milled pocket.[1]
  3. Overlay the neck with synthetic skin for the outer surface and landmark palpation.[1]

Verification: the thyroid cartilage, cricoid cartilage and cricothyroid membrane are all palpable through the skin overlay.

Not suitable for

  • Surgical (scalpel) cricothyroidotomy — the model was validated for needle cricothyroidotomy via the Ravussin catheter technique only.[1]
  • Adult airway procedures — the anatomy is scaled to a 5-year-old child.[1]
  • Validity claims beyond content validity — the source reports a small (n=6) expert-faculty content-validity study only, not skill transfer to patients.[1]



References

[1]

  1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 1.21 1.22 1.23 1.24 1.25 1.26 1.27 1.28 Kovatch KJ, Powell AR, Green K, Reighard CL, Green GE, Gauger VT, Rooney DM, Zopf DA. "Development and Multidisciplinary Preliminary Validation of a 3-Dimensional-Printed Pediatric Airway Model for Emergency Airway Front-of-Neck Access Procedures." Anesthesia & Analgesia 2020;130(2):445–451. DOI: 10.1213/ANE.0000000000003774. PMID: 30234534.



Simulator data
Alternative names pediatric FONA trainer
pediatric front-of-neck access simulator
Kovatch pediatric airway model



Page data
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Authors Arturopelayo
License CC-BY-SA-4.0
Language English (en)
Related 0 subpages, 1 pages link here
Redirects TissueDB/Simulators/Kovatch Pediatric FONA Simulator, TissueDB/Simulators/Pediatric FONA Simulator (Kovatch)
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Created April 20, 2026 by Arturo Pelayo
Last edit June 2, 2026 by Arturo Pelayo
Cite as Arturopelayo (2026). "TissueDB/Simulators/Pediatric Front-of-Neck Access Simulator (Kovatch)". Appropedia. Retrieved June 4, 2026.
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