TissueDB/Simulators Sandbox/Trocar Placement Simulator image pilot

Eight-frame illustration pilot. This sandbox presents eight selected construction relationships for the Trocar Placement Simulator. The phase and step numbers follow the full build. Preparation and the intervening layer steps are retained in the text so the sequence can be followed. The illustrations are undimensioned schematics; the complete live build instructions and original source PDF remain the full construction references. Physical replication and educational performance have not been assessed in this pilot.

Source: ALL SAFE / ALL-SAFE Consortium, ALL-SAFE Trocar Placement Simulation Build Instructions (2023).^[1]

Illustration status: The eight illustrations are prepared and awaiting upload. Each illustration position is marked below; the source-based instructions and captions remain available while the images are pending.

The frame is one continuous corrugated-cardboard strip. It becomes a square sleeve with an open top and bottom. Four integral bands hold four pens, and the pens support the tissue layers. The later steps assume an existing laparoscopic box trainer.

Step 1. Prepare the cardboard strip with the corrugation oriented as in the original source. The published strip lengths disagree; read the cutting-length note before using a cutting dimension. This pilot does not supply a revised cutting template.

Step 2. Use Figure 3 in the source PDF to locate the two end slots. The slots open from opposite long edges and extend about halfway across the strip height. Keep the short end portions beyond the slots.

Step 3. Mark and fold the three fold lines shown in the source template.

Step 4. At each fold, make the paired short parallel cuts shown in the template. The band between each pair of cuts remains attached at both ends and will become a pen holder.

Step 5. Make the remaining paired cuts near the interlock end, where the fourth holder is not over a scored fold. Use the original template to locate these cuts.

Preparation source: PDF pages 2–6, Figures 1–7. The original cutting template is Figure 3 on page 3.^[1]

Step 6. Fold the cardboard into a square. Slide the two opposing slots together to form a lock. When the frame is upright, one slot opens from the top edge and the other from the bottom edge. The two narrow end portions stay outside the locked corner. Keep the sleeve open at the top and bottom.

Illustration T01 pending upload.

Illustration caption: Completed corner after the two opposing slots are joined. The two end tabs remain outside the frame.

T01 source relationship: PDF page 7, Figures 8–10; supporting strip layout on page 3, Figure 3. The illustration shows the completed joint.

Step 7. Push each pen holder inward toward the middle of the frame. Each holder is a band cut from the same cardboard strip. Keep both ends attached.

Step 8. Push one pen through each of the four holders. Each pen passes between the inward-bent band and the frame corner. The pen ends extend above the frame.

Illustration T02 pending upload.

Illustration caption: Push one capped pen through each inward-bent cardboard band. The four bands remain joined to the sleeve at both ends.

T02 source relationship: PDF page 8, Figures 11–13.

Step 1. Cut one square of plastic wrap, approximately 15.25 cm × 15.25 cm (6 × 6 in). Cut a small hole near each corner and fit each hole over its corresponding pen. The four pens hold the sheet tightly across the opening, with their ends projecting above the film. The film represents the peritoneum.

Illustration T03 pending upload.

Illustration caption: Fit the four corner holes of one plastic-wrap sheet over the four pens. Keep the sheet across the opening with each pen end projecting through it.

T03 source relationship: PDF page 9, Figures 14–15 and the adjoining four-hole instruction.

Step 2. Cut a square of white felt or cloth to approximately the same size. Cover both sides with strips of packing tape or masking tape. Make four corner holes and fit this taped-cloth fascia layer over the four pens, above the plastic wrap.

Intervening layer source: PDF page 10, Figures 16–17. This preparation step has no separate pilot illustration.

Step 3. Cut two rectangular pieces of red felt, each approximately 15.25 cm × 5 cm (6 × 2 in), to represent muscle. Make one small hole near each end of each strip. Fit each strip over two pens above the taped cloth. Keep the strips parallel and separated, leaving a clear band of the white fascia layer visible between them. Position the holes so the pens hold the strips under tension.

Illustration T04 pending upload.

Illustration caption: Fit the two felt strips over two pens each, above the taped-cloth layer. Keep the two strips parallel with the cloth visible between them.

T04 source relationship: PDF page 11, Figures 18–19; preceding taped-cloth layer on page 10, Figures 16–17. Gray texture represents the source's red felt in this monochrome illustration.

Step 4. Cut a square of sponge material, approximately 15.25 cm × 15.25 cm (6 × 6 in), to represent adipose tissue. Make four corner holes and fit it over the same pens, above both felt strips. Position the holes so the pens hold the sponge under tension.

Intervening layer source: PDF page 12, Figures 20–21. This preparation step has no separate pilot illustration.

Step 5. Cut another square of white felt or cloth for the skin layer, with four corner positions for the pens. Make an additional hole in the central region for the cut neck of a small balloon. Use only the neck section for this component, with its free end oriented away from the center. Fit the separate skin cloth above the sponge. Leave this skin cloth untaped.

Illustration T05 pending upload.

Illustration caption: Pass only the cut balloon neck through the additional hole in the separate skin cloth, with its free end oriented outward. Leave this skin cloth untaped.

T05 source relationship: PDF page 13, Figure 22; preceding sponge layer on page 12, Figures 20–21. The illustration shows the visible mouth and free end of the neck. The concealed fastening and a hole path through the lower layers are not specified by the source.

Step 6. Inflate an elongated modeling balloon to represent bowel. Use a small piece of tape to attach it to the underside of the plastic wrap, inside the sleeve. This inflated balloon is a separate component from the cut neck used in Step 5. T06 shows the underside location; the tape-contact area is hidden in this view. The source also introduces red lipstick at this step; its exact placement remains unresolved in this pilot, as explained in the source note.

Illustration T06 pending upload.

Illustration caption: Underside view: the inflated modeling balloon lies beneath the plastic wrap inside the sleeve. Attach it with a small piece of tape; the contact area is hidden in this view.

T06 source relationship: PDF page 14, Figures 23–24. This is an underside view. The tissue layers lie beyond the wrap, and the concealed tape contact is left undrawn.

Step 1. Rotate the existing laparoscopic box trainer onto its side and orient the trocar module against the trainer as shown in the original source, Figure 25.

Step 2. On the module wall facing the trainer, mark two lines aligned with the trainer window. Cut upward from the wall's free lower edge at those marks, leaving a central flap joined near the tissue-layer edge. The source describes approximately 7.6 cm (3 in) cuts; the positions are established by alignment with the actual trainer window.

Step 3. Pass the integral module-wall flap over the lower edge of the trainer window so it hangs down inside the trainer. Keep the module outside the trainer and supported flat on the table beside it.

Illustration T07 pending upload.

Illustration caption: Inside view: the integral module-wall flap passes over the lower trainer-window edge and hangs inside. The module rests on the table outside the trainer.

T07 source relationship: preparation on PDF pages 15–16, Figures 25–27; engagement on page 17, Figures 28–29; table support on page 18, Figure 30. T07 is a focused inside view. The module base is occluded from this viewpoint; Figure 30 establishes its table support.

Step 4. Cut two short slits into the trainer's upper cardboard rim to retain a rubber band, as shown in Figure 31. The source gives an approximate slit length of 1.3 cm (½ in). The slits and band provide the phone-retention arrangement above the outside module.

Step 5. Place the phone screen-up on the upper rim, extending above the module, with its camera directed down toward the module. Pass the visible rubber-band segment over the phone to hold it against the rim. The source mentions optional internal weights, such as textbooks, for stabilization, without specifying a required weight or load.

Illustration T08 pending upload.

Illustration caption: Retain the rubber band in the two upper-rim slits and pass its visible segment over the phone. Keep the phone screen-up with its camera directed down over the outside module.

T08 source relationship: PDF page 19, Figure 31; page 20, Figures 32–33. Only the visible band segment is shown. The hidden return path, exact phone overhang and device-specific lens position are not reconstructed.

The full live simulator page contains the complete build presentation and linked training resources.

The source prose gives a cardboard strip length of 22 inches and 55.24 cm, the source template gives 552.45 mm, and the live simulator page gives 56 cm. These values are inconsistent. The pilot retains that discrepancy and does not select a replacement strip length or issue a revised cutting template. Its illustrations show component relationships without measurements.

The page 14 prose refers to applying red lipstick to “both sides” of the modeling balloon, while Figure 24 shows red patches on the sheet beside the balloon. The pilot preserves this ambiguity. T06 does not assign the marks to a more specific surface, and a placement-detail illustration awaits source clarification.

These eight schematics cover selected relationships. T05 leaves the hidden balloon-neck interface unspecified; T06 leaves the hidden tape contact undrawn; T08 omits the concealed rubber-band return. T07–T08 use schematic trainer proportions and do not specify a measured enclosure design. Use the host trainer's own plans and actual window alignment for its enclosure. The complete fabrication of the existing trainer is outside the source PDF's scope. The review checks agreement with the cited construction evidence; it does not establish a physical build, human usability result, clinical performance, load capacity or source-author endorsement.

New illustrations: TissueDB illustration prepared for Arturo Pelayo with AI-assisted SVG authoring (2026).

Source credit: Adapted from ALL-SAFE Trocar Placement Simulation Build Instructions, ALL SAFE / ALL-SAFE Consortium (2023), with the exact pages and figures cited beside each frame. The source File description, revision 953390 records the source under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Changes: Newly authored monochrome vector geometry, simplified composition, consistent visual style, and omission of photographic backgrounds and dimensions. The illustrations use explicit underside and inside views where the source relationship requires them.

Adaptation license: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International.