Meet ALEX : Our high-fidelity simulator

As we embark on Healthcare Simulation Week, we are excited to introduce you to a pivotal member of our simulation family—ALEX! ALEX is not just an ordinary manikin; he’s a high-fidelity marvel designed to bring medical scenarios to life in the most realistic and immersive way possible.

    ALEX, the first full-body Patient Communication simulator that uses artificial intelligence to see, listen and talk. This manikin provides students the opportunity to practice nursing skills in a safe environment, enabling better patient care in real-world settings. ALEX has a number of features that will improve the clinical simulation experience for faculty and students.  

    BTC faculty can view the students in action from the patient’s point-of-view through ALEX’s iris-camera. This feature also allows instructors to record the simulation and use it as a debriefing tool to teach students what they did well and where they could improve. To give the clinical simulation a more realistic feel, ALEX can hear what students are saying and respond using pre-programmed dialogue or text-to-talk or push-to-talk instructor responses.

“ALEX talked back like an actual patient. Being able to say what labs and diagnostics we wanted to see, and reviewing the conversations at the end, was really helpful,” one BTC student said. 

    This feature helps build students’ communication skills with patients like no other simulation manikin has done before. With the CARES Act grant, the college was able to fund the purchase of this advanced manikin. With ALEX by our side, we’re taking healthcare simulation to a whole new level of excellence!