Frank Boosman

We believe that the focus on the mannequin for clinician training is retarding progress in the evolution of healthcare simulation technologies in general, impacting our ability to significantly improve patient safety and the overall quality of care. We believe that the focus of healthcare simulation can, should, and must switch away from the mannequin and toward the software-based simulation of clinical systems, which integrates virtual patients, clinicians, devices, settings, and processes… Show more

We believe that the focus on the mannequin for clinician training is retarding progress in the evolution of healthcare simulation technologies in general, impacting our ability to significantly improve patient safety and the overall quality of care. We believe that the focus of healthcare simulation can, should, and must switch away from the mannequin and toward the software-based simulation of clinical systems, which integrates virtual patients, clinicians, devices, settings, and processes. Moving our focus away from hardware and toward software will enable more rapid progress in fidelity, functionality, and price-performance. Show less

Our global security environment is increasingly affected by biological systems. From the threats of pandemics and bioterrorism to the exploding cost of health care, developing the means to effectively and affordably solve problems related to biological systems is critical to our quality of life. When considering health care costs, the numbers are staggering. Approximately half of the $2.4 trillion spent annually on US health care can be categorized as preventable costs, and $300 billion of this… Show more

Our global security environment is increasingly affected by biological systems. From the threats of pandemics and bioterrorism to the exploding cost of health care, developing the means to effectively and affordably solve problems related to biological systems is critical to our quality of life. When considering health care costs, the numbers are staggering. Approximately half of the $2.4 trillion spent annually on US health care can be categorized as preventable costs, and $300 billion of this is attributable to medical mistakes and the defensive medicine they engender. Just as the use of flight simulators and system integration concepts revolutionized the aircraft industry decades earlier, similar concepts can be applied to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the health care industry today. Our approach is intended to leverage advanced modeling and simulation techniques to accurately represent complex clinical environments. By creating hierarchical simulated models of these systems and then validating these models against their real-world equivalents, we are able to develop a virtual system-of-systems integration laboratory for clinical environments. As with comparable tools in aviation, our goal is for simulation- based tools for health care to make analysis and training fast, safe, measureable, and reproducible. This will be a significant step forward in health care, which has trailed other fields in the adoption of software simulations, due to technological limitations and behavioral barriers. We believe that a holistic approach such as this will pave the way for the next generation of decision support aids, medical devices, and training systems for applications across the health care spectrum. Show less

We are rapidly approaching a time when simulation will be part of our everyday lives. We'll grow to rely on the augmentation provided by simulation just as surely as we rely on other forms of augmentation today. It's difficult to remember how we did our jobs without being able to instantly look up virtually anything on the Internet. It's difficult to remember how we rendezvoused with friends without being able to call them on their mobile phones. It's difficult to remember how we made it to… Show more

We are rapidly approaching a time when simulation will be part of our everyday lives. We'll grow to rely on the augmentation provided by simulation just as surely as we rely on other forms of augmentation today. It's difficult to remember how we did our jobs without being able to instantly look up virtually anything on the Internet. It's difficult to remember how we rendezvoused with friends without being able to call them on their mobile phones. It's difficult to remember how we made it to meetings in unfamiliar cities without GPS and online maps. This is what happens with augmentation: done right, it becomes essential. It becomes assumed. And it becomes -- well, more than missed, really, when it's taken away. It becomes like losing a part of ourselves. This is the path that simulation is on. It's inevitable. Show less

In every survey and every industry examined, simulation-based training was seen to have a positive effect. In every case in which simulation-based training was directly compared to traditional methods, simulations were observed to be superior on some or all criteria. In every case where the costs of simulation-based and traditional training were compared, simulations were found to be less expensive, whether due to lower acquisition costs, lower operating costs, or lower costs resulting from… Show more

In every survey and every industry examined, simulation-based training was seen to have a positive effect. In every case in which simulation-based training was directly compared to traditional methods, simulations were observed to be superior on some or all criteria. In every case where the costs of simulation-based and traditional training were compared, simulations were found to be less expensive, whether due to lower acquisition costs, lower operating costs, or lower costs resulting from more effective or faster training. In every case in which the author(s) of a study made a recommendation about the use of simulation-based training, they recommended its ongoing or expanded use. In short, simulation training has demonstrably reached the point where questions of its fundamental effectiveness should no longer play a part in evaluating its potential use for any given project. In conducting such evaluations, the basic usefulness of simulation training can now be taken as a given, allowing project planners and decision-makers to focus their attention on their specific applications and how best to utilize simulation training in the most useful and cost-effective manner. Show less

As more and more military customers release code for their projects under open source licenses, the availability of such code will create a network effect, amplifying the efforts of all vendors by allowing them to build on what already exists. As has been so amply demonstrated in the civilian open source community, this will lead to better products at lower prices. As a growing number of organizations require the use and development of open source software by vendors, the military simulation… Show more

As more and more military customers release code for their projects under open source licenses, the availability of such code will create a network effect, amplifying the efforts of all vendors by allowing them to build on what already exists. As has been so amply demonstrated in the civilian open source community, this will lead to better products at lower prices. As a growing number of organizations require the use and development of open source software by vendors, the military simulation learning community will create an ever-growing body of tools and technologies, available for all to build upon, fueling ever-faster growth in capabilities and applications. Show less

We in the simulation learning community know how to achieve lofty goals, even as our knowledge is increasing rapidly. We have numerous successes to which we can point -- and, yes, a few dramatic failures. Even as the demand for our products increases exponentially, we face critical challenges as an industry to respond to this demand. Global market intelligence and advisory firm IDC has recently forecast "technology-based simulation adoption in the corporate sector at an epidemic level within… Show more

We in the simulation learning community know how to achieve lofty goals, even as our knowledge is increasing rapidly. We have numerous successes to which we can point -- and, yes, a few dramatic failures. Even as the demand for our products increases exponentially, we face critical challenges as an industry to respond to this demand. Global market intelligence and advisory firm IDC has recently forecast "technology-based simulation adoption in the corporate sector at an epidemic level within the next five to seven years," while noting a number of obstacles that must be addressed to make such adoption possible. What we need now is the equivalent of a moon shot: a goal so far above what we have already achieved that, even while many of us will be imagining how to make it happen, a few will be saying that it can't be done. What we need is a goal so ambitious that it will unite the industry, accelerate and solidify standardization efforts, and provide benefits easily explainable in a sound bite. As with the Apollo Project, the only organization large enough to propose and fund such a goal is the US government. The proposal outlined in this article meets these targets. It is far beyond anything we have achieved to date, would bring together the simulation learning industry, would accelerate standardization, and both the project and its benefits are easily explainable. Simply stated, the proposal is that the US Department of Defense (DoD) set the goal that within five years, every enlisted and non-commissioned military specialty will have available complete simulation-based e-learning courseware. Show less