Scenarios - Creating Resources

 Top  Previous  Next

The creation of scenarios involves two distinct steps:

•First, all the resources to be used in the scenario must be created and placed in the application's 'ScenarioData' folder.
•Second, links to the collection of resources which constitute the scenario must then be added as a new record within the scenario database.

 

In this section we will only describe the first stage. A complete description of the second stage can be found in the section entitled 'Scenarios - Database Editor'.

 

Creating an initial patho-physiological state:

The initial patho-physiological state must be created by the supervisor by adjusting the patient's parameters using the 'MSE Supervisor' application while connected to the Main Application ('MSEHDTVxxxx.exe'). Thus, for example, if the supervisor wishes to generate a hypovolaemic patient, the steps required are:

•Start the Main Application in <Supervised Mode>.
•Click the 'Display' button on the patient monitor and select 'ECG', 'Direct Arterial Pressure' and 'Central Venous Pressure'.
•Click the 'Display' button again to display these parameters.
•Start the 'MSE Supervisor' application.
•Connect the Supervisor Application to the Main Application.
•Click on the 'Getting Started' scenario in the left-hand window of the <Scenarios> page.
•Click on the <Load> button to load this (normal) patient into the Main Application.
•Click on the <CVS / ECG> page tab and slide the <Loss>control up to 1000 mls/min.
•Observe the patient monitor. When an appropriate degree of hypotension and tachycardia has developed, return the <Loss> control on the Supervisor Application back to zero.

 

In the Main Application:

•Save the patient's current patho-physiological state under an appropriate name (eg 'Hypovolaemia') using the  <Tools><Save Patient>  menu option of the main environment.
•Using the 'Windows Explorer' confirm the presence of a file named 'Hypovolaemia.pat' in the scenario data folder.

 

The patho-physiological state contained within the ''Hypovolaemia.pat' file can then be used in any scenario in which a hypovolaemic patient is required at start-up.

 

Creating the clinical notes of the patient:

The clinical notes of the patient should be written in a format which would typically be provided by the admitting physicians of your institution. They can be created using any word processor. The notes should include at least:

•The height, weight and age of the patient;
•The history of the presenting complaint;
•The previous medical history;
•A description of the relevant findings on examination;
•A description of current drug therapy;
•A listing of any drug (or other) allergies;

 

Additionally, the clinical notes can contain data such as ECG’s, Laboratory Results, Respiratory Function tests etc. However, it should be noted that it is generally more appropriate to allocate these data to the ‘Investigations’ section of the Scenario.

 

There is no restriction on the number of pages which can be contained within the ‘Clinical Notes’.

 

Once the notes have been composed, they must be converted to 'pdf' format and placed in the scenario data folder. If you wish to improve verisimilitude by providing 'hand-written' (ie illegible!!) notes, you may do so by scanning the hand-written documents and saving them in 'pdf' format.

 

These clinical notes will be displayed when the <Clinical Notes> menu option of the 'Inspector' window is clicked.

 

Investigations:

The patient's investigations should also be placed in the scenario data folder. These can be in the form of:

•Documents (eg Laboratory Results) in 'pdf' format.
•Static images (eg Chest x-Rays) in 'jpg' or 'bmp' format.
•Audio files (eg Heart Sounds) in 'wav' format.
•Video files (eg Echo loops) in either 'wmv' or 'avi' format.

 

There are several good sites on the WWW which can be used as a source of X-Rays, ECG's, Scans etc.

 

The investigations will be displayed when the <Investigations> menu option of the 'Inspector' window is clicked.

 

Resources:

Similarly, appropriate resources should also be placed in the scenario data folder. As with the patient's investigations these can be in the form of:

•Documents (eg Scientific References) in 'pdf' format.
•Static images (eg ECMO Circuit Diagrams) in 'jpg' or 'bmp' format.
•Audio files (eg Lectures) in 'wav' format.
•Video files (eg Instructional videos) in either 'wmv' or 'avi' format.

 

In addition, the URL's of relevant websites can also be included as resources.

 

The resources will be displayed when the <Resources> menu option of the 'Inspector' window is clicked.