Studiohead design partners Cian Plumbe and Matt Harrison took the Distributed Simulation project to the Health Proffesions Education 2009 conference in Toronto in May.

The work was presented by Dr. Roger Kneebone of Imperial College School of Medicine in a workshop, and in his gala-dinner keynote speech in Frank Gehry’s Art Gallery of Ontario.

Matt and Cian went to contribute to the event by explaining the design philosophy behind the Distributed Simulation to leading thinkers in the target market for this product.

A full medical simulation of a central line insertion was performed for the audience within the DS environment, configured to represent an intensive care unit. This was held in the splendid surroundings of the University of Toronto’s Oxbridge style debates room. The audience and participants were successfully drawn into a believable and tense simulation.

The DS concept was met with general enthusiasm, resulting fruitful discussions and purchase enquiries. Toronto University is widely recognised for its work on simulation in medical education, and its was great to share our work and get feedback from these experts.

Toronto is an excellent city, and I highly recommend a visit. If you go, do check out the Distillery district. It is a converted distillery that is now home to a host of design, art and theatre activities.