THE INTEGRATION OF PERFORMANCE LOGS WITH DIGITAL VIDEO FOR REVIEW OF SIMULATION TRAINING SESSIONS

John W. Lutz, Thomas Dongilli, John J. Schaefer III

University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC),Peter M. Winter Institute for Simulation Education and Research (WISER) Pittsburgh, PA 15261

ABSTRACT METHODS

CONCLUSION

Background

Full-scale simulation education sessions are often recorded usingstandard videotape for playback during post-session debriefing.Use of the Laerdal SimMan Simulator allows automaticgeneration of Extensible Markup Language (XML) performancelogs of these sessions. Recently there have been developments inInternet-based digital video recording that allows thecombination of these logs with video over the Internet.

Methods

The Peter M. Winter Institute for Simulation, Education andResearch (WISER) is a large simulation center located at theUniversity of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC). WISERmakes extensive use of web based resources. Laerdal’s latestsoftware allows the automatic generation of detailed XML logfiles of the simulation session. These files can include eventsand comments, which can be predetermined to be correct orincorrect for the scenario provided. These data files can then beautomatically formatted with predefined style sheets toemphasize the correct or incorrect steps, such as color-codingcorrect steps in green and incorrect steps in red.

There are preliminary versions of software available that allowsdigital video recording on a central server with playbackavailable over the Internet via a standard web browser. Playbackcan be indexed to specific time points during the recording.

Discussion

We have used standard web programming techniques to take thetime stamps provided in the XML log files and create web linksto the time index. This allows participants to easily correlatetheir actions during the sessions with the results in the log files.

Conclusions

The recent development of Internet-based digital videorecording allows the combination of data files to specificportions of video recordings, facilitating the review of educationsimulation sessions by the participants over the Internet.

The Peter M. Winter Institute for Simulation, Education andResearch (WISER) is a large simulation center located at theUniversity of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC). WISERrecently moved into a new facility that allows 11 simultaneoussimulation sessions to be recorded concurrently. During the 2003academic year, WISER performed over 7,000 simulationsessions using Laerdal SimMan Simulators.

WISER makes extensive use of web based resources for coursecontent, management, evaluation and feedback. We take theXML data files and store them with other relevant informationabout the session into an SQL database. These files can includeevents and comments, which can be predetermined to be corrector incorrect for the scenario provided. These data files can thenbe automatically formatted with predefined XSL style sheets toemphasize the correct or incorrect steps, such as color-codingcorrect steps in green and incorrect steps in red. This makes itreadily apparent to both instructor and student where successesand problems existed during the simulation session.

WISER uses “mass customization” to provide informationtailored specifically to each users needs.

METHODS

BACKGROUND

Full scale simulation education sessions are often recorded usingstandard videotape for playback during post-session debriefing.Rewinding and queuing the video tape to the appropriate spot tomake educational points can be time consuming and frustratingfor the instructors and students alike. New software has beendeveloped that allows the digital recording of video on relativelyinexpensive equipment. The software allows the user toprogrammatically queue the video to desired points instantly.

The latest version of Laerdal SimMan Simulator allows theautomatic creation of Extensible Markup Language (XML) datalogs of the students performance during simulator sessions.Different Extensible Style Sheet Language (XSL) files can beapplied to these XML data files to allow formatting thathighlights correct and incorrect steps taken during the simulationsession.

Tightly correlating specific correct or incorrect actions duringthe simulation session with the video playback of that sessioncan provide a powerful learning tool for the students.

Recent developments have allowed for the convergence of thesetwo technologies using standard web programming techniques.

An example of a video log linked to thedigital video recording taken during thatsession:

METHODS

Schematic of the combination of the XMLdata, XSL style sheet and digital videofile.

There are preliminary versions of software available that allowsdigital video recording on a central server with playbackavailable through a customized ActiveX™ object over theInternet via a standard web browser. Playback can be indexed tospecific time points during the recording using standard webprogramming techniques.

The student or instructor can choose the simulation session theywant to view, which will bring up the XML data formatted inone of several styles depending on what needs to be emphasized.Each event and comment in the log file is time stamped. Thetimestamps in the log file are programmatically hyperlinked topop open a window that will display the video at that selectedtime. Controls are built into the video window that allow theusers to fast forward, pause and rewind as needed. The video canbe shown as “picture in picture” to allow the real-time display ofthe SimMan vital sign monitor or a second video source alongwith the primary video source.

This technique allows the instructors and students to “zero in”precisely on problems that occurred during the session. Then canthen see, and most importantly, learn to correct, those problems.

Recent developments have allowed the convergence of a numberof technologies to facilitate the review of full scale simulationsessions and provide detailed analysis and video playback thatcan be time linked and displayed over the Internet via a standardweb browser.