We’re excited to announce the launch of our latest update, v 1.15, which brings a host of new features and scenarios designed to elevate the realism and depth of our simulations. This release focuses on the introduction of a major new patient symptom family: inflammation. In addition, we've updated our Foley/indwelling catheter. We’re also introducing two new patient scenarios that will challenge learners to apply their skills in realistic, high-pressure situations.

Major New Patient Symptom Family: Inflammation

Inflammation is a key issue in many disease states and health issues. In nursing, the following signs are symptoms of inflammation that may present separately or together and indicate various issues requiring additional assessment and intervention.

Limb Swelling

All patients now have three configurable levels of swelling in their limbs, on the upper arm and lower legs. Swelling can be set to mild, moderate, and severe, representing an approximate 10, 20 and 30% increase in limb girth, respectively. Swelling on all limbs can be defined independently by alloying them for a bilateral comparison of the severity of the symptoms. 

Erythema

Three erythema levels can be configured for all patients on their upper arms and lower legs. Erythema can be applied concurrently with limb swelling. The feature’s visual intensity increases over three levels: mild, moderate, and severe. The visual application of redness has been carefully defined and reviewed with respect to the patients’ base skin tone to ensure a high-fidelity, realistic representation of the symptom. 

Temperature Zones

Active participants can now palpate more discreet zones on the patients’ body to determine comparative temperature. This creates a higher fidelity opportunity for participants to practice the very natural assessment interaction of checking the temperature of a body part. This new feature goes hand in hand with new erythema and swelling capabilities to facilitate the creation of deeply immersive and engaging patient inflammatory scenarios. 

These new patient symptoms can be used when you build your custom scenarios in the UbiSim Intuitive Editor. For example, you can now customize Earl Jenkins, who has pitting edema and peripheral edema. 

New Equipment: Measuring Tape

The measuring tape capability allows participants to measure the circumference of limbs to compare and record any difference between normal and impacted limbs. When applied, the measuring tape returns a circumference value in centimeters or inches based on the level of swelling applied to the limb. The body type and BMI of all patients were considered to provide realistic values. 

Foley Catheter/Indwelling Catheter Update

The device traditionally known as the Foley catheter has now been updated in medical terminology to "indwelling catheter," and UbiSim is pleased to announce that it has been fully integrated into our virtual scenarios. As part of our release, this tool not only functions within the virtual environment but also triggers realistic after-effects on the patient's condition, providing a more immersive and clinically accurate experience for nursing learners.

Learners will see vital signs like heart rate and blood pressure return to normal, offering them immediate feedback on the effectiveness of their care. This not only increases engagement but also reinforces the value of patient-centered care, showing nurse learners the direct, positive impact their interventions can have on a patient’s overall health and recovery.

Two New Patient Scenarios

Aurora McCarthy - Brief Resolved Unexplained Event (BRUE)- Infant Supraventricular Tachycardia (SVT)

• Learners provide care to an infant and support to a family following a distressing event at home, and respond quickly to status changes

Vlad Kroniski - Crohn's Disease: Fluid & Electrolyte Imbalance

Vlad Kroniski is a patient who presents with a week-long bout of diarrhea, nausea, cramping, & bloating. Learners conduct a focused nursing assessment for a patient presenting with electrolyte imbalances secondary to Crohn’s Disease. During the scenario, learners will prioritize and implement interventions for treating fluid and electrolyte imbalances.

This new update will launch on August 28th!