MEXICO: Mexico medical students practise on 'breathing' robots

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 (September 26), Mexico City's UNAM University opened the world's largest "robotic hospital" where medical students practise 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. "I think there is nothing like this in all of Latin America and I dare to say even in the whole world including the more developed countries," said the Dean of UNAM Medical School, Dr. Malaquias Lopez. "This center is one of the best which exists at the moment." The $1.3 million facility has 24 robotic patients and a computer software program that can simulate illnesses 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.

ITN Source | September 30, 2005

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