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Veterinary students at the University of Bristol (UK) have using their new “Breed’n Betsy” — a machine that simulates parts of a cow’s body and replaces the use of live animals for this part of veterinary training:
The metal frame simulators allow students to diagnose pregnancies, and carry out artificial insemination and embryo transfer.
Students can also use the system to teach themselves with the aid of guidance posters and have the freedom to practice whenever they want.
“Many of our students come in to try out the simulators,” said Mike Steele, from the School of Veterinary Sciences.
“As a result, the first rectalling class with a new group of students is very much more successful.
“No student is in a cow for more than five minutes now and up to 90% leave the first session having felt a uterus, most differentiating whether pregnant or not.”
Link via Ace of Spades HQ | Product Site | Photo: University of Bristol
Veterinarians have no choice when they need to check a cow for pregnancy or infection. The standard procedure is to stick your arm up the cow’s rectum. The technique is difficult to teach to veterinary students because, well, it’s dark in there.
That’s why veterinarian and computer scientist Sarah Baillie has created the “Haptic Cow,” a virtual, touch-feedback device that mimics the feeling of real bovine anatomy, placed inside a fiberglass model of a cow’s rear end.
“With this technology, students can feel something that feels like the inside of a real cow, but I or another instructor can be following their movements on a monitor,” said Baillie, who teaches at the Royal Veterinary College in London. “This means we can say, ‘Come back a bit or go left a bit.’ It actually means you can direct them.”
Not only can professors follow a student’s exact movements and critique the technique, but they can also keep track of how much force is being applied. If a fledgling vet gets too rough and exceeds the number of Newtons considered safe by experienced vets, virtual Bessie will belt out a cautionary “Moo-oo!”
(image credit: Sarah Baillie/Royal Veterinary College)
