Design and validation of a simulator for equine joint injections.

This study documents the design and validation of an equine joint injection simulator to teach veterinary students due to limited opportunities in conventional curricula. The simulator was well received, and users showed increased proficiency in conducting joint injections, compared to traditional textbook learning.

Research Objective and Hypothesis

• The primary objective of this research was to design and validate an equine joint injection simulator. The reason behind this was the limited opportunities veterinary students get to practice this essential skill in their curricula.
• The researchers hypothesized that using the simulator would enhance the students’ ability and confidence to perform joint injections.

Simulator Design

• The simulator was built around an equine forelimb skeleton, with soft tissues replicated using building foam and rubber bands.
• The design included an auditory feedback mechanism to indicate successful joint injections. This involved an electrical circuit with a buzzer, battery, wire wool in the joints, and a hypodermic needle at the end of the cable. If the needle was correctly placed into the joint, the buzzer would create a sound, giving instant auditory feedback to the student.

Validation Process and Findings

• For validation, 45 veterinary students were divided into three groups. One group had the cadaver limb for practice, the second used the newly designed simulator, and the third learnt via textbooks.
• Students’ abilities to perform joint injections were tested, and their opinions were collected through a questionnaire.
• Results indicated the success of the simulator, with 76% of the students in the simulator group performing the metacarpophalangeal (MCP) joint injection correctly. This was significantly higher than the 50% success rate of the textbook group but slightly less than the extremely high performance at 93% of the those practicing on cadavers.
• The performance of the three groups did not significantly differ in performing distal interphalangeal (DIP) joint injections.
• Student feedback about the learning experience rated the cadaver and simulator groups highly, while the textbook group had a lower rating.

Overall Implication

• The equine joint injection simulator represents an affordable, practical teaching aid.
• It enables students to practice this skill repeatedly, at their own pace, and with immediate feedback. This feature could significantly contribute to enhancing their competency and confidence in performing equine joint injections.