Elevating Patient Care: Birthing Simulation Breakthroughs by Avkin, Inc.

Amy Cowperthwait, CEO of Avkin, shared her journey from emergency department nurse to healthcare simulation expert. She was inspired to become a nurse by her grandmother and has dedicated her career to improving healthcare education.  The main focus of the conversation was Avkin’s maternal fetal simulation technology.  The company has developed an innovative birthing simulator that, unlike traditional plastic mannequins, can be worn by a real person. This allows for more realistic training scenarios where healthcare providers can practice both medical procedures and crucial communication skills.

Key points discussed:

1. The importance of addressing healthcare disparities, particularly in maternal-fetal health outcomes for marginalized populations
2. How the wearable birthing simulator allows for authentic human interaction during training, including non-verbal communication and real-time feedback
3. The simulator’s ability to replicate realistic birthing scenarios while allowing the person wearing it to provide valuable feedback afterward
4. The impact this technology has had on healthcare education, earning recognition as one of Delaware’s top eight “coolest things made”

Amy emphasized that the goal of this technology is to improve healthcare outcomes by providing more realistic training experiences. The company, based in Newport, Delaware, has expanded globally and attends approximately 10 conferences annually to showcase their innovations.