Implementation Guide – Simulation Supplies 2 – Open-Access Training for Health Care Emergencies

Vascular Access Simulators

Simulators for vascular access may be used alongside an actor, during pre-arrest scenarios, or alongside CPR/airway mannequins if the ‘patient’ is non-responsive. The simulators should allow realistic introduction of peripheral or central lines, providing feedback through fluid return. Simulators may be obtained for training with or without POC ultrasound.

Peripheral Access - for purchaseCentral Access - for purchaseVascular Access - DIY

Peripheral Access – For Purchase

There are a number of products that are available for purchase, including:

Central Access – For Purchase

Central venous access can be obtained blindly, but using ultrasound guidance is rapidly becoming standard of care. It is important that a trainer provide a realistic experience using ultrasound probes.

Some manufacturers to consider include:

Vascular Access – DIY

Courtesy of Dendai et al, 2014

Innovators have experimented with materials and approaches for creating vascular access simulators, most commonly using gelatin. These can be built at a very low cost.

Descriptions of peripheral access devices include:

5-Minute Sono
Injectable Orange
Instructable on fashioning an IV arm using fish tank tubing and silicon

Beginning with successful guidewire placement, dedicated task trainers may be used for practicing use of the introducer and catheter.

These trainers have reservoirs that allow both blood return, as well as bleeding.

courtesy of Lisa Bagby, University of Alabama at Birmingham

Courtesy of Dendai et al, 2014

Clinical educators from around the world have published on central venous access simulators in peer-review journals. Descriptions of the steps to build these models are helpfully described in the following publications, along with considerations for implementing them into training programs.

Di Domenico et al. 2009.Introducing ultrasound-guided vein catheterization into clinical practice: A step-by-step guide for organizing a hands-on training program with inexpensive handmade models. J Ultrasound. 11(4): 135–142.

Denadai et al, 2014. Simulation-based ultrasound-guided central venous cannulation training program. Acta Cir. Bras. 29(2).

Amini et al. 2015. A novel and inexpensive ballistic gel phantom for ultrasound training. World J Emerg Med. 6(3): 225–228.

Morrow, Cup, and Broder. 2016. Versatile, Reusable, and Inexpensive Ultrasound Phantom Procedural Trainers. J Ultrasound Med. 35(4):831-41.