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 News Around the Republic of Mexico | September 2005 
Medical Students Learn On 'Breathing' Robots
 Reuters
| | A Mexican medicine student practices resuscitating a full scale sized robot of a man as a teacher watches during a class at the Autonomus University's school of medicine in Mexico City. The robots are designed to help students apply clinical techniques in a simulation before facing real life patients. (Photo: Daniel Aguilar) |
Faced with a growing number of medical students and few training hospitals, a Mexican university is turning to robotic patients to better train future doctors.
On Monday, Mexico City's UNAM University opened the world's largest "robotic hospital" where medical students practice on everything from delivering a baby from a robotic dummy to injecting the arm of a plastic toddler.
The robots are dummies complete with mechanical organs, synthetic blood and mechanical breathing systems.
"The country's rapid increase of medical students has not kept up with the number of medical facilities," said Joaquin Lopez Barcena, an associate dean at the university's medical school. "This a very a good learning opportunity for our students."
The $1.3 million facility has 24 robotic patients and a computer software program that can simulate illnesses ranging from diabetes to a heart attack.
For Paola Mendoza Cortez, a first-year medical student, the robotic patients offer peace of mind.
"I would feel nervous if this was (a) real patient," said Mendoza after drawing blood from a plastic arm. "With this (dummy patient) I can practice many times."
With close to 15,000 enrolled students, UNAM has one of the largest medical school in Latin America. There are about 70,000 medical students enrolled in Mexico, according to the Mexican association of medical schools.
"There are medical schools sprouting out everywhere in this country," said Martha Hijar, a medical researcher of the Mexican Institute of Public Health. "This is a very well paid major that offers status and that is why it is attracting so many into the field." |
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