2023-08-23 06:00:05
“Who has ever examined an eardrum on a patient? », asks François Simon, ENT at the Necker-Enfants Malades university hospital center (Paris 15th). Of the five 5th year medical students present, only Nicolas raises his hand. ” Did you see it ? », continues the specialist. The young man nods. ” Well done ! It is difficult, because the angle of access to the eardrum varies from one patient to another according to their morphology”underlines the doctor.
The printers of the AP-HP 3D printing platform, at the Broussais hospital, in Paris, on June 15. CHRISTOPHE CAUDROY FOR “THE WORLD”
The objective of the course is to“teaching otoscopy [examen du tympan] thanks to a life-size 3D printed ear and eardrums”, explains Professor Simon, 35. He himself designed these educational devices, with the help of an engineer. The tool is now made available by the new 3D platform which was created within the Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP) in early 2023. Since then, around ten different printers have been distributed between Necker and the former Broussais hospital (Paris 14th). This service is financed by the remains of donations from Kering and Hermès, which had subsidized, at the time of Covid-19, the “3D farm” of Port-Royal in which medical equipment was printed.
Read also: Respirators, protections for caregivers…: 3D printing mobilized against the coronavirus
After brief reminders about what a healthy eardrum looks like, the specialist hands the students an otoscope – a small, lighted magnifying glass to look inside the ear: “We hold it like a pen, and especially not like a hammer! This keeps a wrist mobile to move around the ear canal without hurting.”he insists. “But, sir, I hold my pen very badly! » The atmosphere is relaxed.
Training varies according to the universities
The ENT distributes the dummy ears in which he clips the eardrum capsules. He grabs an otoscope and does the demonstration himself by sticking his eyebrow against the magnifying glass: inside the ear in 3D, go beyond the external auditory canal, a little rough, before finding the eardrum; from there, move the otoscope well, which allows you to see only a quarter of the eardrum at a time. “You then have to rebuild it mentally”, explains Professor Simon. The challenge is to diagnose frequent pathologies, especially in children: acute or seromucous otitis media, perforation, haemotympanum.
During the first six years of study, before internship, training in otoscopy varies according to the universities, such as access to a simulator and the number of hours devoted to it. “We count on the fact that the student will be confronted with it during his internships”, adds the ENT. In fact, Nicolas did an internship in a pediatric emergency department where “everyone had an otoscope”. Conversely, Clémence spent three months in the emergency room without touching it. “If there was a problem, we called the ENTs”, she says. However, knowing how to perform an otoscopy examination is an essential skill for general practitioners, pediatricians or emergency physicians.
You have 59.25% of this article left to read. The following is for subscribers only.
#Necker #medical #students #practice #printed #eardrums