Delivering a realistic experience for training medical students and surgeons on the intricacies of Percutaneous Nephrolithotripsy surgery — minimally invasive kidney stone removal — has been achieved by medical device model manufacturer Encoris.
Called the PCNL Boz Trainer, the newly patented training model allows surgeons and medical students to practice hands-on simulation for targeting, crushing, and removing kidney stones.
Using reusable kidney cartridge inserts simulating different kidney stone conditions, surgeons and trainees can practice the removal of kidney stones whether they are large staghorn, upper and lower caliceal stones, or hydronephrotic (blocked ureter) stone conditions.
(Image credit: Encoris)
“This simple, cost-effective trainer closely simulates percutaneous nephrostomy tube placement and nephrolitomy,” says the device’s inventor, Dr. Giorgio Bozzini, a world-renowned urologist and medical consultant in the department of Urology Humanitas Mater Domini, Milano.
“Trainee experience is in a low stress environment that provides an opportunity for supervised, repetitive performance of essential technical skills,” he says.
The PCNL Boz Kidney trainer has undergone rigorous professional reviews, receiving approvals from prestigious medical organizations like the EAU Section of Urolithiasis (EULIS) Masterclass in Milan, European Section for UroTechnology (ESUT), and international medical device companies.
“The PCNL Boz Trainer has been in collaborative development with the Politecnico di Milano, a scientific University in Milan, Italy, for two years. Further enhancing the model with better materials and pathologies, it is now available to medical schools, teaching hospitals, and medical device companies worldwide to train on various kidney procedures without limitation,” says Encoris Vice President Jim TenBrink, whose company as of June 2016 inked an exclusive agreement to manufacture and distribute the PCNL trainer.
(Image credit: Encoris)
Among the features of the Encoris PCNL Trainer are:
• Surgeons and students can thoroughly practice PCNL procedures as a simulated operation using either ultrasound or fluoroscopy.
• Lifelike skin and subcutaneous tissue layers as well as built-in anatomical markers such as the iliac crest of the hip, thoracic 11th and 12th ribs, and a thoracic spine.
• Provides many different orientations of the kidney and multi-surgical stone conditions via interchangeable kidney cartridges.
• Trainees can practice access to the kidney from multiple angles and entry points either from the back or through the ureter.
• The trainer provides a clean operating environment and is reusable for multiple training sessions eliminating the need for cadavers or animals for training.
Weighing just 7 lbs., the portable PCNL Boz trainer measures 8.5 inches wide by 8 inches long by 6.7 inches high and comes with a carrying case and kidney training cartridges making it ideal for off-site surgical training.
