BIX-LV44 Bronchoendoscope Trainer: How to Run a Bronchoscopy Session That Transfers

A bronchoscopy trainer earns its price when the session forces the trainee to confirm tube position twice — once by image, once by auscultation — because that double check is what prevents the commonest avoidable error in the intensive care unit. BIX-LV44 is an adult upper-body model priced at a reference $824.88, with a soft nasal cavity, an elastic tracheobronchial tree, a head that tilts and rotates, a tooth-pressure alarm for wrong handling, and enough acoustic realism for lung auscultation to confirm catheter position. It supports fibreoptic bronchoscopy, rigid bronchoscopy and tracheal tube intubation. This guide gives a 90-minute session design that uses all four capabilities.

Setting up before the first trainee arrives

Set the head position deliberately. The listing notes that the head tilts backwards and swings side to side; that movement is the point of the model, because the operator has to learn to adjust the head instead of forcing the scope. Start every session with the head in a neutral position and require the trainee to reposition it themselves.

Decide the route in advance. Nasal and oral approaches teach different hand-eye problems. The soft nasal cavity makes the nasal route realistic, and a class that only ever practises orally will struggle on the ward, where the nasal route is often preferred in a conscious patient [1].

Test the alarm before teaching with it. The tooth-pressure alarm is the model's built-in correction: it fires when the operator levers the scope against the teeth. Confirm it works, then tell trainees explicitly that the alarm is a teaching cue, not a fault, so nobody freezes when it sounds.

A 90-minute session in four stations

1. Station 1, 0–20 minutes: anatomy by touch and by scope. Trainee passes the scope to the carina, names the main bronchi, then withdraws and repeats without looking at the screen. The model's elastic bronchial tree tolerates repeated passage, which is why it is worth using for orientation drills rather than only for procedures.
2. Station 2, 20–40 minutes: nasal route and head positioning. Ask the trainee to enter nasally, and to reposition the head rather than push when resistance appears. Instructor scores: entry without force, no alarm, carina reached in under 60 seconds.
3. Station 3, 40–65 minutes: intubation and depth. Advance a tracheal tube over the scope, then confirm position by auscultation. The model's acoustic behaviour lets the trainee hear the difference between a main-stem and a tracheal position, which is the skill that transfers most directly [2].
4. Station 4, 65–90 minutes: rigid scope and debrief. Rigid bronchoscopy is a different motor skill: the operator steadies the scope with one hand and the patient's head with the other. End the session with a two-minute debrief on the alarm count and the time to carina.

What the model teaches well, and what it does not

Strong on: scope handling, route selection, head positioning, recognition of the carina and main bronchi, tube depth confirmation by auscultation, and the habit of checking for excessive force.

Weaker on: bleeding, secretions and mucosal abnormality. There is no described facility for simulating haemorrhage or tumour, so therapeutic bronchoscopy and complication management need a different platform or a supervised clinical setting.

Not a substitute for: sedation and airway decision-making, which belong in simulation with a team, and for the cognitive steps of consent and indication. Simulation-based bronchoscopy programmes work best when they are embedded in a curriculum with governance and assessment rather than run as one-off workshops [3].

Buying and running notes

1. Budget for the reference price plus freight. $824.88 is a unit reference, subject to quantity; ask for the carton and freight basis, since the torso is bulky.
2. Confirm scope compatibility. Ask which scope diameters the bronchial tree accepts, and whether paediatric scopes pass.
3. Order a spare set of consumable airway parts if the supplier offers them; repeated intubation eventually deforms the soft tissue.
4. Keep a log per trainee. Record time to carina, alarm count and auscultation accuracy — three numbers that make progress visible without instrumented feedback.
5. Store upright. An elastic bronchial tree left compressed between sessions loses its shape.

Documentation and quotation. The specification, accessory list and current price for BIX-LV44 are available from ada-manikin@adaanatomy.com.

FAQ

Q1. What procedures does BIX-LV44 support? Fibreoptic bronchoscopy, rigid bronchoscopy and intubation through a tracheal tube, with auscultation used to confirm catheter position.

Q2. Does it have a feedback mechanism? Yes, an alarm sounds when the teeth are pressed too hard, which flags excessive levering during insertion.

Q3. Can the head be repositioned? Yes. The head tilts backwards and swings side to side so the operator can set the position needed for the procedure.

Q4. Is the airway replaceable? The airway is described as elastic and flexible; ask the supplier whether replacement airway parts are available as consumables.

Q5. What is the price? The reference unit price is $824.88, subject to order quantity and freight.

Q6. Suitable for which trainees? Junior doctors, respiratory trainees, ICU and anaesthesia staff learning scope handling, and nursing staff practising tube depth confirmation.

References

1. Du Rand IA, Blaikley J, Booton R, et al. British Thoracic Society guideline for diagnostic flexible bronchoscopy in adults. Thorax. 2013;68(Suppl 1):i1–i44. doi:10.1136/thoraxjnl-2013-203618
2. Jothir Surya Teja Y, Penubarthi LK, Kumar VD, et al. Development and validation of a low-cost simulation tool for practical training in diagnostic bronchoscopy. Cureus. 2026;18(4):e106843. doi:10.7759/cureus.106843
3. Pirozynski M, Jakimowicz J. From prototype to national standard: a governance framework for scaling simulation-based bronchoscopy training. Adv Simul (Lond). 2026;11(1):55. doi:10.1186/s41077-026-00452-9

For a quotation on BIX-LV44, including scope compatibility and spare airway parts, write to ada-manikin@adaanatomy.com with your training programme and scope sizes.