Construction of a pig model for training students in taking intravenous blood samples

Abstract

Because of the stress response of pigs during restraint, time spend on blood sampling should be as short as possible. A realistic swine model which allowed students to practice methods such as blood sampling during the course of their clinical training, before collecting blood from live pigs, was therefore developed. The idea for this model originated from the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna and was realized as a co-operational project with the Skills Laboratory of the University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover. The first step was the production of a pig torso using a frozen pig as a basis, which was molded by plaster binds. In a second step this gypsum model was lined with fiberglass mats. This prototype was used to form a further model without the aperture of the thorax. To close this thoracic gap a life-size silicone insert was constructed. This resembled the anatomy of the pig, and consisted of a trachea, veins and arteries made of caoutchouc (natural rubber that has not been vulcanized) tubes. These tubes were filled with colored fluid to simulate successful blood sampling. In addition, the pig model could also be used to further teach procedures in the skills laboratory, such as intramuscular injection in a silicone pad in the neck behind the ear and nose swab sampling of the nasal passages. This newly developed pig model could improve student´s clinical training in swine in the skills lab of the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna.