Contact: Amanda Jekowsky, ajekowsk@acc.org, 202-375-6645

Washington, DC, Battle Creek, MI, and Evanston, IL October 17, 2008 – The American College of Cardiology (ACC) and the Center of Excellence for Simulation Research (CESR) of Western Michigan University announced the launch of an educational and research partnership, using in situ simulation to improve the time from hospital presentation with an acute myocardial infarction (MI) to balloon angioplasty (D2B). Mentice, Inc. was selected as the exclusive technology vendor, utilizing its Vascular Intervention Simulation Trainer (VIST™) and newly launched MenticeSIM™ platform for enhanced videocapture, skills evaluation and post-experience assessment.

The ACC is the nation’s leader in promoting evidence-based care for cardiovascular disease (CVD), including its educational programs sponsored by the American College of Cardiology Foundation (ACCF) and its quality improvement efforts such as reducing door-to-balloon times through the D2B Alliance. W. Douglas Weaver, M.D., F.A.C.C., ACC President, asserted that “I am proud that the ACC is collaborating with leaders in simulation technology to advance patient care. In situ simulation has improved safety in commercial aviation and it also will bring many benefits to acute MI care, where a team of healthcare providers must quickly and expertly respond to emergency situations where every minute counts.”

“This initiative is a perfect example of using a quality improvement model as the framework for continuing education learning activities,” said Elizabeth Yarboro, Senior Director of Education Strategy and Accreditation at ACC. Joseph Green, Ph.D., Chief Learning Officer, added, “Activities such as this, which are learner-centered, assess outcomes, and include measurement of discrete behavior change, will lead to quantifiable assessment of changes in competence for healthcare professionals.”

William Hamman, M.D., Ph.D., cardiologist, pilot and former manager of human factors and risk assessment for United Airlines, has been a leader in adapting in situ simulation technology to healthcare models. Dr. Hamman, Director of CESR, said “Communication among team members is a critical element to shoring up safety and improving performance. In situ simulation offers a unique opportunity for clinical and interventional cardiologists, emergency department physicians, nurses, technicians, and paramedics to identify and rectify communication and system barriers to optimal acute MI care.”

“We are excited to have been selected by the ACCF/CESR partnership as the provider of endovascular simulation technology for this important project” said Tim Shannon, VP of Sales and Marketing, Mentice, Inc. “Team communication, when compromised, contributes to medical errors, increased costs and additional time, which translates into lost lives and poor patient outcomes.” The Mentice technology enhances the in situ experience by capturing valuable data for the researchers to evaluate during the post-simulation assessment of how each team’s communication skills impacted the treatment outcome. According to Shannon, “…the medical community will applaud the efforts of the ACCF/CESR partnership in its drive to improve patient outcomes as evidenced by this endeavor.”

About the American College of Cardiology
The American College of Cardiology is leading the way to optimal cardiovascular care and disease prevention. The ACC is a 37,000-member nonprofit medical society and bestows the credential Fellow of the American College of Cardiology upon physicians who meet its stringent qualifications. The College is a leader in the formulation of health policy, standards and guidelines, and is a staunch supporter of cardiovascular research. The ACC provides professional education and operates national registries for the measurement and improvement of quality care. For more information, visit www.acc.org.

About CSER
The Center of Excellence for Simulation Research (CSER) is a multimillion-dollar simulation research center supported by grants from the state of Michigan’s Economic Development Corporation, (MEDC) and pier reviewed by the American Academy for the Advancement of Science. (AAAS) Through the use of strategically designed scenarios and advanced simulation devices, (CESR) of Western Michigan University replicates real-world situations to evaluate systems, processes and team behaviors in health care organizations. Key features are the design of the simulation model, In-situ simulation, and the use of video debriefing. The system uses reality-inspired scenarios of complex patient situations that require effective team coordination to achieve safe patient care (Hamman et al., 2007), While other organizations can merely observe situations that happen to occur in the health care institution, CESR can trigger situations that will force health care teams and the corresponding health care systems to function in emergent and critical scenarios without the stress of being a real patient. Website: http://psoone.org

About Mentice, Inc.
Mentice is a leader in medical simulation with approximately 600 installations worldwide, 100+ validation studies and more than 30 issued and pending patents. Mentice's Family of Simulators focuses on the area of minimally invasive endovascular procedures, core skills training and assessment. Website: http://www.Mentice.com

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The American College of Cardiology is leading the way to optimal cardiovascular care and disease prevention. The College is a 36,000-member nonprofit medical society and bestows the credential Fellow of the American College of Cardiology upon physicians who meet its stringent qualifications. The College is a leader in the formulation of health policy, standards and guidelines, and is a staunch supporter of cardiovascular research. The ACC provides professional education and operates national registries for the measurement and improvement of quality care. More information about the association is available online at www.acc.org .

The American College of Cardiology (ACC) provides these news reports of clinical studies published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology as a service to physicians, the media, the public and other interested parties. However, statements or opinions expressed in these reports reflect the view of the author(s) and do not represent official policy of the ACC unless stated so.

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