Simulation-Based Research

Assessment of performance and processes in real-time within an operational clinical environment like the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) is often difficult or impossible. For good reason, clinical, ethical, and regulatory requirements for pediatric studies are significant and often stringent. 

In addition to offering a variety of training programs for healthcare professionals, the Center for Advanced Pediatric & Perinatal Education (CAPE) serves as a working laboratory for research projects that answer clinically relevant questions in a simulated environment. 

Center for Advanced Pediatric and Perinatal Education

E-mail: contactCAPE@stanford.edu

Phone: (650) 724-5307

Through simulation-based research, investigators are able to realistically replicate human and system interactions, capture and analyze objective audio-visual streams, and ultimately identify and implement changes to improve the safety, efficiency and effectiveness of patient care.  In addition, defining competency in the cognitive, technical and behavioral skills necessary for safe and effective patient care is becoming increasingly important as organizations strive to develop meaningful objective markers of performance to be used for licensure and other high stakes assessments.

CAPE is home to professionals from a variety of fields who come here to discover innovative solutions that impact hospital operations and patient care. Current research includes determination of optimal bedside data displays (the medical “glass cockpit”) and development of a lexicon for precise, concise communication during high-risk, time-sensitive clinical activities such as resuscitation. To learn more about these research projects being conducted by our fellows in Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine, click here. We also facilitate research done by the Safety Learning Laboratory for Neonatal and Maternal Care, (Prinicipal Investigator, Lou Halamek, MD.)

Simulation-based research is also a valuable resource for medical device advancements. CAPE's services to medical device developers are designed to facilitate device design and usability testing in a highly controlled environment that presents no risk to real patients. Simulation-based testing speeds time to market by enabling a robust exploration of human factors and systems design issues. The team at CAPE has worked with a number of companies to assess the utility and safety of their devices prior to implementation on a large scale within the operational clinical environment.  

Faculty

Lou Halamek
Professor of Pediatrics (Neonatology) and, by courtesy, of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Nicole Yamada
Clinical Professor, Pediatrics - Neonatal and Developmental Medicine
Janene Fuerch
Clinical Associate Professor, Pediatrics - Neonatal and Developmental Medicine