Immersion simulates PCI for clinician training

Immersion Corp. used ACC to spring board its AccuTouch Endovascular Simulation System.

Intended for training percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI), the company says the new system replicates the look and feel of balloon angioplasty and stenting with realistic graphics and tactile feedback action. As a result, doctors can independently practice these procedures to acquire, develop and maintain proficiency.

The simulator lets clinicians use the same tools they use in the real PCI process. A real-time video display supplies visual feedback using a three-dimensional fluoroscopic view of the beating heart. In addition, the company says that the user's technique is tracked and any resulting complications - including dissection, perforation, vessel rupture, and cardiac arrest - are annotated.

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