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Located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, both Lumis^® and Duquesne University have one very important mission in common — meticulously preparing the next generation of healthcare professionals to be successful.

This long-standing partnership began in 2020 when one of our very first investors at Idea Foundry, introduced one of our co-founders Doug Nelson to Mary Ellen Glasgow, PhD, Dean at Duquesne University’s School of Nursing. The rest, as they say, is history.

It has been well over two years since Duquesne participated in a pilot project with Lumis and the partnership has grown from strength to strength.

We recently caught up with Rosanna Henry, MSN, RN, CHSE and Sue Williams, MSN, RN, CHSE to see how our InSight Platform^® has helped them improve their training programs.

During our conversation with them, they shared that the university was in the process of comparing different technologies with hopes to enhance their current training practices and provide students with an immersive experience. One of those technologies was our InSight Platform. We were curious about what set our product apart from the many options they had and that was the start of an engaging conversation with Rosanna and Sue.

What made you choose the InSight Platform over other solutions?

Rosanna: “The fact that students could use the system with minimal faculty guidance,” was one of the selling points. She mentioned that virtual reality seemed impractical for training large groups. Our platform’s advanced capabilities and adaptability were also amongst their deciding factors.

Sue: “I think what I appreciate is that working with Lumis, they were able to tailor it for our needs using our information {the curriculum that they teach}…The augmented reality that is projected onto the manikin looks exactly the way it looks in {this} textbook. That has been helpful because the students can then relate to that and see it in 3D,” she added to Rosanna’s response. As instructors with specific content needs, the customization capabilities that our system offers to be tailored to meet their program requirements was a huge plus!

Our hands-free augmented reality platform is unlike other solutions on the market. The InSight Platform does not require headsets, another pro according to them. With students constantly going in and out of the simulation lab, they felt that cleaning headsets would be onerous and would take away from the collaborative learning they aim to provide their trainees. Add to that the cost of multiple headsets that lack the capability to interact with manikins. That tactile manipulation is essential to practicing a procedure and getting a feel for it.

How often do you use the InSight Platform?

Sue: “Every semester!” she told us with excitement in her tone. She continued to explain the usage of the platform across different courses and programs. Williams and Henry are not the only faculty from Duquesne SON that use the platform. Most instructors use the platform when teaching the clinical section to their nursing cohorts. “The feedback I have gotten from the clinical instructors is that they really, really like the platform. It helps them and it supplements and augments what they are trying to teach the students,” she told us.

What improvements have you seen amongst the students because of usage of the platform?

Sue: “They {students} really show enthusiasm for auscultation skills, seeing exactly what they are listening to and why they are hearing what they are hearing. They can put it all together.” The feedback that our system provides, allows students to better understand the impact of their actions, helping equip them with critical thinking skills.

While observing students training on the InSight Platform in the classroom earlier this year, I overheard one of the students exclaim “the heart sounds so real” while exploring our Cardiac Auscultation module. We’ve also repeatedly been compared to video games, which speaks to the immersive nature of our technology. Not being a clinical person myself or a medical educator, I was curious, why is this important?

Why is this significant?

Sue: “Actually hearing what they are listening to, I think it kind of pulls it all together. {Typically, when I am teaching} I don’t hear what they’re hearing” she said regarding students identifying sounds that different regions of the heart produce using a static manikin “but with Lumis I know it is exactly where they should hear it… That’s made a difference for us, the reality and the feedback.” She also shared that their high-fidelity manikins do not offer sounds that are nearly as authentic as those that the InSight Platform does.

Rosanna: “I think when students struggle with a static manikin and they wonder why they can’t hear something they don’t realize they’re in the wrong location. {With the InSight Platform}, no wonder you can’t hear it, you’re way, way too far. They can see where they need to be, helping them to better understand.”

What is the biggest benefit for you as an instructor?

Sue: “It is one thing to talk about it and say this is it {the sounds and locations of anatomical structures} and have the stethoscope but if they see what is making those sounds and where those sounds are coming from I think it gets it in their head a little bit better… They are learning.”

Why do you think realism is critical in teaching the next generation of nursing professionals?

Rosanna: “Realism is critical for student comprehension…The images {advanced anatomical visualizations our platform displays} are amazing and help students to learn so much faster because of this hands-on approach,” she says of the platform. She also shared with us that it speeds up student comprehension because they are able to connect concept to practice much faster than they would through a traditional learning approach. The InSight Platform allows for trainees to have an immersive experience whether learning remotely, in the simulation lab, or the classroom.