Bristol Biomedical Simulation - Donate for defib weston-super-Mare

Information Kindly Shared With Donate For Defib W-s-M Project By The Bristol Biomedical Simulation

Innovating with virtual-patient simulation to revolutionise learning at scale Bristol, UK

Simulation-Enhanced Learning For Healthcare & Bioscience

Physiology & Simulation Teaching Partnership With Donate For Defib

🚑💛 Donate For Defib In Community Action! 💛🚑

We’re proud to be at the University of Bristol today, providing vital CPR & Defibrillator Awareness Training. Together, we’re saving lives through education and empowerment!

🤝 In collaboration with:

University of Bristol
AMS Electrical
Bristol Biomedical Simulation

Every heartbeat matters – together we’re building a safer, stronger community. 💓

#DonateForDefib #SavingLives #CPRAwareness #DefibrillatorAwareness #UniversityOfBristol #CommunityAction

At Bristol Biomedical Simulation, we are pioneers in the integration of human patient simulation technology into large-scale undergraduate education for bioscience and healthcare. Our innovative approach, described as the ‘Bristol Method’, not only enriches the learning experience but also bridges the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical application, preparing students for real-world challenges in science and medicine.

A Busy 2025 Already

Published 9th June 2025 – Richard Heyler

It’s already been a very busy year for the team at Bristol Biomedical Simulation.

In January, we contributed to an online discussion with students on the MSc in Simulation Based Education at University of Staffordshire, kindly invited by Mandy Wilford.

In February, Dr Majda Bakali represented Bristol with a presentation at Morocco Sim 2025 in Oujda.

Our first large-group session using our newly-adopted platform AIBODY (AIBODY.IO) ran in February, teaching 280 medical students the mechanisms of control of mean arterial pressure. Feedback was excellent.

In April, we descended on Porto for SPSim 2025, with Dr Richard Helyer giving a keynote on Mass Training Using Virtual Patients. This, together with Prof. Willem van Meurs’ inaugural symposium was an excellent event. At the same time, we reviewed a trial run of the ‘Bristol Method’ delivered by the Porto team, ready for their roll-out to second-year medical students in May.

In May, we cemented our relationship with AIBODY.IO, presenting a workshop at the Physiological Society Teaching Meeting 2025 on the use of their virtual physiology platform.

But the main event in May was the birth of a daughter Evelyn Anne to our wonderful specialist technician Katherine Harrison and her partner Mark. We were also pleased to welcome Yana Kovacheva as Kat’s very able maternity cover.

In June, Dr Richard Helyer travelled to South Carolina, USA courtesy of AIBODY.IO and Palmetto InnovaSphere to show how the virtual physiology platform can be used in healthcare education.

We held two workshops at Greenville Technical College and Spartanburg Community College attended by numerous educators and stakeholders, and enjoyed superb hospitality. And it was great to reunite with our friend SImon Walls, consultant in medical simulators.

We also attended in June the advisory board meeting of DonateForDefib Weston-super-Mare, meeting the Deputy Lord Lieutenant of Somerset, and receiving cerificates to recognise our contribution. A video of our simulation of AED use has already been used in community education.

Then to Valencia, Spain for SESAM 2025 to present a poster on our use of iRISHealthcare StudentSim by biomedical sciences undergraduates, another on automatic patient generation with Prof. Willem van Meurs, a workshop with AIBODY.IO, and meeting friends old and new.

Next up are some vacations, including a super trip to Bordeaux and the Pyrenees as a guest of Prof. Willem van Meurs, with only a small amount of shop-talk.

Soon we head to Frankfurt and Löwenstein, Germany to the IUPS 2025 symposium and teaching satellite for a collaborative workshop with AIBODY.IO.

Ongoing projects include application of Virtus Tech to our teaching scenarios, a very interesting upcoming project with Frederico Lorenzo Barra and iRIS on AI scenario generation, and helping further centres adopt our method for teaching physiology. And watch this space for a full paper, a SIMZINE article and other developments.

What have we forgotten?!

Impact

Official Letter Of Support - Enhancing Our Partnership

A Proud Milestone for Donate For Defib Weston-super-Mare: Clinical Experts Meeting – 19th June 2025

Thursday 19th June 2025 marked a truly inspiring milestone in the journey of the Donate For Defib Weston-super-Mare project. We proudly hosted our Clinical Experts Meeting — a day filled with collaboration, celebration, and heartfelt gratitude. 💬❤️

We were deeply honoured to welcome Brigadier Nigel Beacom QVRM, Deputy Lord Lieutenant of Somerset, as our Special Guest Visitor. 🇬🇧 His presence and support are a powerful reminder of how vital our mission is — not just for Weston-super-Mare, but for communities across Somerset.

This special event was a celebration of the dedicated Clinical Team Members and Experts who work tirelessly behind the scenes to save lives. We were thrilled to present certificates and awards 🏅 to these true champions of emergency care, recognising their outstanding contributions to defibrillator awareness and response.

Certificate of Thanks Presented to Dr. Richard Heyler, PhD – University of Bristol

We are proud to recognise Dr. Richard Heyler, PhD, from the University of Bristol, as a key Clinical Expert supporting the Donate For Defib Weston-super-Mare Project.

Dr. Heyler was recently presented with a Certificate of Thanks by our Project Lead, Josh Bell, in appreciation of his ongoing contributions to enhancing defibrillator provision across the community. As an Academic Lead, Dr. Heyler’s expert knowledge and guidance have played a vital role in helping us shape our life-saving initiatives with robust clinical insight.

His dedication to improving access to defibrillators, along with his collaborative spirit, has had a meaningful impact on our strategic planning and educational efforts. We are incredibly grateful to have his support as we continue working towards a safer, better-equipped Weston-super-Mare.

On behalf of the entire Donate For Defib team and the communities we serve—thank you, Dr. Heyler, for being a valued part of our mission.

Certificate of Thanks Presented to Dr. Majda Bakali

Donate For Defib Weston-super-Mare is proud to recognise and celebrate the contributions of Dr. Majda Bakali BSc, Teaching Associate at the School of Physiology, Pharmacology & Neuroscience, for her ongoing support and clinical expertise.

On behalf of the project, our Project Lead, Josh Bell, had the pleasure of presenting Dr. Bakali with a Certificate of Thanks, acknowledging her valuable role as one of our trusted Clinical Experts. Dr. Bakali’s insights and guidance have played a key part in helping us ensure the highest standards of defibrillator provision and community education.

Her commitment to public health and passion for advancing life-saving knowledge has directly supported our mission: to make defibrillators more accessible, better understood, and ultimately, more effective in saving lives across Weston-super-Mare.

We extend our heartfelt thanks to Dr. Bakali for being part of our growing network of clinical professionals who are making a real difference in our community.

Innovative Human Patient Simulation

We are at the forefront of revolutionising education in the biosciences and healthcare. Our method of applying virtual-patient simulation technologies enables large-scale undergraduate education, providing students with realistic learning experiences for physiology, pathophysiology and whole-body drug action. Based on 20-years of experience at the University of Bristol, our simulations are meticulously designed using commercially available, model-driven simulators to explore key mechanisms that underly whole-body function and disease, enhancing the learning process and better preparing students for their future roles in science and medicine.

New Cardiac Arrest Demonstration Video Now Available

We are delighted to share an exciting new resource from Dr Richard Heyler at Bristol Biomedical Simulation — a Cardiac Arrest Demonstration Video designed to enhance life-saving knowledge and awareness.

This professionally produced video provides a clear and practical demonstration of how to recognise and respond to a cardiac arrest, offering valuable insights for medical students, healthcare professionals, and members of the public alike.

Whether you’re in training or simply want to feel more confident in an emergency, this video is an excellent tool for learning the essential steps that could help save a life.

👉 Watch the video below and learn how to act fast in a cardiac emergency.

Together, let’s raise awareness and empower more people with the knowledge to make a difference.

Bristol Biomedical Simulation Video - The Unwell Patient (Heart Attack)

Bristol Biomedical Simulation Video - Sudden Cardiac Arrest

Bristol Biomedical Simulation Video - The Unwell Patient

No Limit To Class Size

We upscaled our approach from small groups gathered around a manikin to large-class virtual-patient experiences, a 25-fold efficiency increase without compromising learner satisfaction and outcomes.

Find Out More

Our method is detailed in the comprehensive guide to simulation-based physiology education ‘Learning Physiology In Context’, R Helyer, E Lloyd & W van Meurs, 2024, SIMESSENTIALS no. 1, SIMEDITA, IT. Available here.

“The University of Bristol have made very creative use of the available technologies, and managed to set up physiology teaching programs to a broad range of students. They managed to move from 2 facilitators teaching a handful of students standing around a manikin to 2 facilitators teaching 250 students with virtual patients, while maintaining student satisfaction and test scores”

Simon Walls

Vice President, CAE Healthcare, USA

‘Would you use a simulator for pilot training that did not have a computer model of an aircraft?’, to paraphrase the words of Simon Walls, Strategy, Marketing and Commercial Executive in simulation. So we ask why would you use a simulator without a physiological model for training healthcare professionals?

We are not the only ones to ask. In this post from SIMZINE, read what one leader in simulation, Dr Stefan Mönk, has to say about the utility of simulators with physiological models.