Fire Department

The City of Madison Fire Department is preparing to put a new "employee" to work. I-Stan™ is an electronic patient simulator designed for paramedic training.

Members of the emergency medical community are being trained in how to operate the simulator and program medical scenarios. The full-size mannequin rests on a gurney in the Department's conference room. Representatives from UW Hospitals, Medflight, MATC, and Dane County EMS are among the first to learn more about how to integrate I-Stan™ into an emergency medicine training program.

The simulator came to the Department as an initiative of the late Dr. Darren Bean, the Department's medical director. Dr. Bean was killed in a MedFlight crash in May, 2008.

That's put the program well behind schedule, but this week training is in full swing, with hopes to begin paramedic training this spring.

Among the features of the simulator is the ability to program physiological reactions such as cardiac and pulmonary ailments, as well as traumatic injuries. The simulator then responds to the care given by paramedics.