TissueDB/Simulators/Cricothyrotomy Simulator (White UW)
(Redirected from TissueDB/Simulators/White UW Cricothyrotomy Simulator)
General Information
This simulator is a low-cost procedural-skill trainer for emergency cricothyrotomy, designed and built at the BioRobotics Laboratory, University of Washington, Seattle, USA. It is documented in White et al. (2012, 2013, 2014) and described secondarily in D'Auria & Persia (2014),[1] from whose §2 the content on this page is compiled. The trainer comprises a 3D-printed cricoid-and-thyroid cartilage assembly with a mobile cricothyroid joint (ABS plastic), a thin cardboard tracheal tube carrying conductive-foil contact sensors at six anatomical zones, compliant-foam tracheal cartilaginous rings, and a bicycle-inner-tube skin segment. Total material cost is reported as under US $50. D'Auria & Persia (2014) report a validation trial of 100 medical doctors classified into three categories (expert, medium-expert, not-expert); validation specifics for the original White et al. units are in their primary publications, not accessed.
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| General Information | Low-cost cricothyrotomy skill trainer developed by White et al. at the BioRobotics Laboratory, University of Washington, Seattle, USA, for procedural skill acquisition in low-resource settings. D'Auria & Persia (2014)[1] §5 report a validation trial of 100 medical doctors classified into three categories (expert, medium-expert, not-expert). Validation specifics for the original White et al. units are reported in their primary publications, which were not accessed at the time of this page. The simulator uses widely available materials: 3D-printed ABS cartilages with a mobile cricothyroid joint, a thin cardboard tracheal tube, compliant-foam cartilaginous rings, and a bicycle-inner-tube skin. Six conductive-foil contact sensors (labelled A–F) at six landmarks per D'Auria & Persia (2014) Figure 2 — A: posterior tracheal wall; B and D: lateral trachea-cricothyroid junctions; C: midline cricothyroid membrane (only correct incision site); E: cricoid cartilage; F: lower tracheal cartilaginous ring — connect to an Arduino microcontroller for instrument-contact detection. The Activity Detection Engine / Cyber Physical System extension by D'Auria & Persia (2014) is documented separately at TissueDB/Simulators/Cricothyrotomy Simulator (D'Auria). |
| Features and Basic Operation | Not stated in source |
| Current Development Status | Secondary-sourced documentation. D'Auria & Persia (2014)[1] §5 report a validation trial of 100 medical doctors classified into three categories (expert, medium-expert, not-expert) using their own Activity Detection Engine framework over the White et al. simulator. Validation specifics for the original White et al. units are in their primary publications (2012 IEEE GHTC; 2013 AAO-HNSF abstract; 2014 Journal of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery), which were not accessed at the time of this page. Editors with access are invited to verify and extend. |
| Estimated Build Time and Cost | Not specified in accessible source., Less than US $50 total (reported by D'Auria & Persia (2014)[1] citing White et al.). Itemised cost breakdown is not present in the accessible secondary source. |
| Specialized Tools and Equipment | Not stated in source |
| Version | Not stated in source |
| Development Team Contact Information | Not stated in source |
Tissues
| Tissue | Qty | Material | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Skin | 1 segment | Bicycle inner tube segment | — | Cutaneous layer draped over the ABS skeleton. Inner-tube size, grade, and tensioning method not specified in accessible source. |
| Cartilage (thyroid + cricoid) | 1 set | 3D-printed ABS plastic with mobile cricothyroid joint | — | Rigid landmark geometry for palpation and cricothyroid-membrane identification. STL files held by originating authors (White et al.). |
| Cartilage (tracheal rings) | 3 rings | Polyurethane foam (grade not specified) | — | Compliant foam rings covered with conductive-foil sensor strips for contact detection. Foam grade, density, thickness, and ring-to-ring spacing not specified in accessible source. |
| Trachea | 1 tube | Thin cardboard tube with conductive-foil sensor strips | — | Airway wall. Tube inner/outer diameter, wall thickness, and length not specified in accessible source. |
Structural Parts
| Part Name | Qty | Material | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arduino microcontroller board | 1 | Arduino Uno board (Atmel Atmega 328 microprocessor; 8x8 LED matrix display) | — | Reads conductive-foil contact signals from sensor zones A–F. Activity Detection Engine overlay is documented separately at TissueDB/Simulators/Cricothyrotomy Simulator (D'Auria). |
| Conductive foil sensor strips | 6 zones | Conductive foil (grade not specified) | — | Applied at six contact zones per D'Auria & Persia (2014) Figure 2: A on the posterior tracheal wall; B and D on the lateral trachea-cricothyroid junctions; C on the midline cricothyroid membrane (only correct incision site); E on the cricoid cartilage; F on the lower tracheal cartilaginous ring. |
| Wiring harness | 1 set | Electrical wire (gauge and layout not specified) | — | Connects the six foil contact zones to inputs on the Arduino board. |
| Scalpel | 1 | Standard surgical scalpel | — | User-supplied instrument. Used for skin and cricothyroid-membrane incision. |
| Tracheal hook | 1 | Standard tracheal hook | — | User-supplied instrument. Retracts the airway open under the cricoid cartilage after incision. |
| Hemostat | 1 | Standard hemostat | — | User-supplied instrument. Per D'Auria & Persia (2014) §2.2 Step 5, the hemostat is inserted to expand the airway opening vertically and horizontally. |
Build Instructions
Phase 1: Print the Cartilage Skeleton
- 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.
Phase 2: Prepare the Tracheal Tube and Foam Rings
- Obtain a thin cardboard tube to serve as the tracheal wall. Tube inner diameter, wall thickness, and length are not specified in accessible source.
- Prepare three compliant-foam rings to represent the first, second, and third tracheal cartilaginous rings. Foam grade, density, thickness, and inter-ring spacing are not specified in accessible source.
- Apply conductive-foil strips to the six contact zones labelled A–F per D'Auria & Persia (2014) Figure 2: A on the posterior tracheal wall; B and D on the lateral trachea-cricothyroid junctions; C on the midline cricothyroid membrane (only correct incision site); E on the cricoid cartilage; F on the lower tracheal cartilaginous ring.
Phase 3: Assemble and Wire the Model
- Assemble the ABS cartilage skeleton, cardboard tracheal tube, and foam cartilaginous rings into the cervical-anatomy stack.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 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.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ 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.)
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ 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.
| Alternative names | UW BioRobotics Cricothyrotomy Simulator White Cricothyrotomy Trainer |
|---|
| Authors | Arturopelayo |
|---|---|
| License | CC-BY-SA-4.0 |
| Cite as | Arturopelayo (2026). "TissueDB/Simulators/Cricothyrotomy Simulator (White UW)". Appropedia. Retrieved June 2, 2026. |