ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. —

An anonymous donor has given the University of New Mexico Hospital's new Critical Care Tower a teaching tool that may be new to most of us.

"SimMan" is a life-size medical manikin that gives medical students and seasoned health care providers a way to practice various "soft skills," such as checking for vitals. This human-like creation has a pulse, eyes that react to light, and can simulate the sound of a patient in pain.

The UNM Health Sciences website says that SimMan connects wirelessly to a computer, and his accompanying software outputs a display of realistic vital signs such as heart rate and blood pressure.

“If we can do this on a manikin that is very realistic, this keeps our patients safer, it keeps us up-to-date with our skills and it gives us an idea as t

See Full Page