AI in Healthcare Simulation Education and Training
We build smart learning tools for future clinicians: virtual patients you can actually talk to, AI that scores your interviews or sutures, and dashboards that make feedback instant and clear. ASTEC is our high-tech home base but our focus is with the AI projects we make below.
Goals
In this hands-on research and design team, students will collaborate to discover methods of improving patient-provider interactions with artificial intelligence (AI). Students will learn and apply how AI can mediate conversations in healthcare settings to personalize services, improve the timeliness and effectiveness of provider feedback and improve providers’ metacognitive skills. Project work will take a design thinking approach and engage theory and concepts from adaptive teaching, machine learning, cognitive architecture, human-computer interactions and mHealth to explore ways to innovate healthcare in the digital age.
AI in Healthcare Simulation Education and Training is a team based at the Arizona Simulation Technology & Education Center (ASTEC), where team members engage with a wide array of technological and educational resources to provide interprofessional learning opportunities, with the goal to improve patient outcomes through healthcare education and research.
Issues Involved or Addressed
- Human-patient simulators
- Procedural task trainers
- Laparoscopic surgery towers
- Anatomage digital dissection
- Full A/V integration and learning management system
What We Build
AIMHEI
Analyzes student–patient transcripts line by line, scores performance, and delivers rich coaching feedback for learners and faculty.
Medical Case Creator (MCC)
Upload a file or paste text; AI completes a full simulation case template. Faster, more accurate scenarios—ready for virtual patients.
2D Virtual Patient
Screen-based interviews with dynamic responses. Great for low-bandwidth classrooms. Fully integrated with AI evaluation tools.
3D Virtual Patient
Immersive, speech-enabled encounters in realistic 3D spaces. Connects to MCC and other tools for seamless curriculum delivery.
Suture Analysis System
Snap a photo of a suture pad—AI scores technique, flags errors, and suggests resources. Built with computer vision.
Procedural Assessment
AI + checklists + vision tracking to evaluate procedures (injections, exams, etc.) and deliver instant, targeted feedback.
Motivational Interviewing (MITI 4.2)
Assesses empathy, collaboration, and change talk. Co-developed with the Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine.
Debriefing & Dashboards
Faculty-facing tools that visualize transcripts, timing, tone, and objectives so debriefs are faster, deeper, and data-driven.
Interprofessional Team Skills
Simulations built on TeamSTEPPS to improve teamwork, communication, and leadership across disciplines.
Magic Kingdom
Central content hub storing all media (text, audio, 3D, video) that powers our AI tools and virtual patients.
Methods and Tech
- Virtual/augmented reality and game-based systems (Oculus, Vive, Hololens)
- Casting/molding (silicones, gelatins, urethane, and polymers)
- 3D printing (SLA/extruder printers)
- Electrical engineering, sensors, and motion tracking
Academic Majors of Interest
Open to all majors, including:
- Health Sciences
- iSchool
- Computer Science / Data Science
- Engineering (Biomedical, Electrical & Computer, Mechanical)
- STEM
- Honors College
Application Process
This team is near capacity for Summer and Fall 2025.
If spaces become available and you would like to be considered to join the team on a first-come, first-served basis, please complete this Google form.