The virtual bronchoscopy simulator – a young physician's view

Editor – I enjoyed reading Emily Heiden's account of how she has used an online ‘virtual bronchoscopy’ tool in her training (Clin Med December 2012 pp 609–10). I also made use of this excellent resource to help learn the anatomy of the bronchial tree before going on to practice the technique for real. I was surprised, however, that she did not mention the ‘quirk’ of using this particular simulator. The virtual bronchoscopy in question is conducted from the point of view of an anaesthetist, who is presumably stood behind the head of a supine patient, while respiratory physicians tend to perform their bronchoscopy standing by the side of a patient who is sat upright. The anatomy of the airways seen through the bronchoscope is therefore rotated 180 degrees in relation to the images learnt in the online tool, and the trainee must perform some mental acrobatics to orient things correctly (or rotate their computer display when practicing at home!)

• © 2013 Royal College of Physicians