USES OF SIMULATORS

Although simulators were originally used to provide basic instruction on the operation of aircraft controls,^[2] the variety of uses of simulators in general has expanded greatly in the last 30 years. Singleton ^[3] outlined the possible uses of simulators in all types of complex work situations ( Table 84-1 ).

Thus, simulation can be seen as a powerful generic tool for dealing with human performance issues (training, testing, and research; also see Chapter 83 ), for investigating human-machine interactions, and for the design and

TABLE 84-1 -- Use of simulators in complex work environments

Training in dynamic plant control

Training in diagnostic skills

Team training, as

Dynamic mockup for design evaluation

Test bed for checking operating instructions

Environment in which task analysis can be conducted (e.g., on diagnostic strategies)

Test bed for new applications (e.g., telemedicine tools such as the "Guardian-Angel-System")

Source of data on human errors relevant to risk and reliability assessment

Vehicle for the testing/assessment of operators

Adapted from Singleton WT: The Mind at Work. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1989.

validation of equipment. As delineated later in this chapter, each of these uses is potentially relevant to anesthesiology.