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Every move has to be rightDHM Emergency Trolley Training App
For the Department of Congenital Heart Defects and Paediatric Cardiology at the German Heart Center Munich (DHM), we developed a digital training course as a 3D application in the style of a serious game. With it, nurses and physicians learn where each item is kept in the emergency trolley and practise emergency scenarios.
On the virtual trolley, they open drawers, reach for the right equipment and play through scenarios such as resuscitation, from a guided tour to a stress test against the clock. This turns knowledge into routine, through play and in short sessions on a tablet.
Why does handling the emergency trolley need training?
Because it is rarely needed, yet in an emergency anyone on the ward may end up standing at the trolley (known in the US as a crash cart). Then every move has to be right: whoever is asked to hand over the defibrillator, the intubation kit or adrenaline needs to know which drawer it is in.
Without routine, people search, and in the worst case the wrong kit is handed over. Until now, staff familiarised themselves with the trolley’s contents on their own, using linear, text-based documents. That makes it hard to internalise where things are kept and in which order they are needed.
Experienced nursing staff have the expertise; what is missing is routine. That is why we framed the task this way from the kick-off: knowing is not the same as doing. The app does not teach medical theory, but the handling and procedures at the trolley.
How does the serious game for nursing training work?
The application shows the ward’s emergency trolley as a 3D model. You rotate it, open drawers and take out equipment, just like on the real trolley.
The training is divided into three stages. The app’s support decreases step by step until you act on your own.
- Basics: A guided tour explains every area of the trolley. Then you explore it freely, search for items and put them in the right place. Next, you get to know the scenarios and, with the help of a virtual coach, lay out everything that is needed.
- Practice: The scenarios are practised for specific patients, using sample patients of different ages and weights, from infants to adults. This also covers how much of a drug to draw up. The stage ends with a stress test against the clock, for example during resuscitation.
- Refresher: Short quizzes at increasing intervals keep the knowledge fresh, no matter how far along you are in the training.
Didactically, the app follows the way a trade is learned: first demonstrate, then accompany, then gradually let go. The trolley can be viewed in detail as a 3D model and as a 2D overview. The tone is deliberately relaxed and informal, with no competition between colleagues.
Why did we decide against VR?
The original plan was a VR application, because VR makes training particularly immersive. In workshops with the DHM, we worked through who would take the training, when and where, and whether a training record was required.
The result was an application for tablets. On duty there are rarely longer time slots, so what was needed was training in short sessions without preparation. A VR headset and an undisturbed room would have prevented exactly that. Training takes place during working hours on the hospital’s tablets.
We deliberately decided against a training record. Learning progress is saved so that everyone can pick up where they left off. The hospital manages the accounts itself via an admin page. The application runs on a server in the hospital’s intranet, a solution we developed together with the DHM’s IT department. This way, the application meets the hospital’s data protection and IT security requirements.
Where VR plays to its strengths is shown in our ECMO-VR case study, also for the DHM.
How did we approach the project?
An interdisciplinary team of UX design, 3D design and front-end development carried out the project from 2023 to 2024. The DHM’s medical staff were involved in every phase.
- Understand: clarified goals, learning approach and use in the day-to-day ward routine together.
- Model: built the emergency trolley as a detailed 3D model and aligned it with the DHM.
- Define content and didactics: reviewed learning content and prioritised scenarios in workshops with the medical staff.
- Concept and design: developed the learning structure and the interface.
- Test: trialled and improved prototypes with nurses at the DHM.
- Implement: programmed the application and introduced it at the hospital together with the IT department.
What does the DHM gain?
- Staff practise the handling through play on the 3D model instead of reading through lists.
- The content matches the ward’s actual trolley, compartment by compartment.
- Training takes place in short sessions during working hours, on the hospital’s tablets. Learning progress is saved.
- The application meets the hospital’s IT and data protection requirements.
Working with UP Designstudio is always a great pleasure. From initial concept to testing and final implementation, we received excellent support. The result is enthusiastically appreciated on the ward.
Andrea Strötges-Achatz
Can the application be transferred to other hospitals?
Yes. The app is built for this ward’s emergency trolley, but its framework can be adapted to other equipment, further scenarios and other hospitals.
Even without adaptation, an existing application can serve as basic training, for example for new staff or trainees. The points where your own trolley differs are documented and covered in targeted follow-up training.
Frequently asked questions
How can handling an emergency trolley be trained digitally?
With a 3D application in which you rotate the trolley, open drawers and take out equipment in the order of an emergency scenario. Training starts with guidance and becomes more independent step by step.
Do you need a VR headset for the training app?
No. The application runs on tablets, so a training session can be completed even in a short time slot during a shift.
Where is user data stored?
On a server in the hospital’s intranet. The hospital creates accounts via an admin page so that learning progress is saved. No training record is generated.
Can the app be adapted to a different emergency trolley?
Yes. Equipment and scenarios can be adapted and extended. An existing version is also suitable as basic training, with differences covered in targeted follow-up training.
How is the training structured didactically?
Like an apprenticeship in a trade: the app first guides you through the trolley, then accompanies you as you practise and gradually withdraws its help. Refreshers at increasing intervals consolidate the knowledge.
Which training courses are suitable for digitalisation?
Above all, training for situations that many staff members may face, even if they occur rarely. If a scenario only concerns a few specialists, other simulation methods are often more appropriate.
Meet UP!
Are you considering digitalising a training course at your hospital? Together with you, we will work out which training is suitable and what it needs to achieve in everyday practice.
Lasse Creutzfeldt
Managing Director
lc@updesignstudio.de
+49 711 32654 82
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