Development and testing of a neonatal head manikin with anatomically accurate upper airway for respiratory equipment testing and medical personnel training

The relevance of the study is determined by the lack of inexpensive and realistic models of newborn heads in the Russian Federation for testing non-invasive respiratory support equipment and training medical personnel. Most of the manikins available on the market either have insufficient anatomical accuracy and the impossibility of taking measurements, or are extremely expensive. Objective. development and testing of a neonatal head manikin with anatomically accurate upper airway for respiratory equipment testing and medical personnel training. Materials and methods. The study is based on the use of anonymized data from computed tomography of newborns without pathologies, obtained at the State Budgetary Healthcare Institution of the Sverdlovsk Region, the Yekaterinburg Clinical Perinatal Center. Based on the data, a 3D model of the head with realistic airways was created, reproducing the anatomical features. The materials included PLA plastic and two-component silicone. The tests were conducted using the CPAP Infant Flow device and high-precision measuring devices. The study period included the development, production and testing of the model over a period of 12 months. Results. The developed head model demonstrated high accuracy in reproducing airway pressure. Ultra-soft silicone allowed identifying areas of increased pressure on the skin, making the model useful for training personnel. The practical significance consisted in testing and adjusting respiratory equipment, as well as training medical personnel in conditions close to clinical ones. Conclusion. The developed manikin of the newborn head has proven its effectiveness as a tool for testing equipment and training personnel. However, further assessment of the model's durability and its adaptation for work with different types of respiratory systems is required, as well as further implementation of additional electronic measuring modules to expand the functionality.

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