A guest article by Asta Speičytė-Radzevičienė, head of Lithuanian parent organisation Neišnešiotukas

Last year, in 2022, about 1,200 preterm babies were born in Lithuania. However, the worldwide birth rate has been steadily declining for over 50 years. Every baby matters!

© Neišnešiotukas

Thanks to the collaboration with AmerisourceBergen, Lithuania received an innovative simulator Paul which precisely recreates a preterm 27-weeks-old baby. Such an innovative solution, which is created in Austria by SIMCharacters, contributes to the education of Lithuania’s medical professionals and helps to ensure a higher quality of preterm babies’ healthcare.

Paul imitates a very small 27-week-old newborn baby, which matches most of the clinic’s patients. Such preterm babies may have short-term or long-term health problems, therefore learning how to take care of them and how to provide the right medical help is a very important part of medical studies.

Even though Paul is quite small, his contribution to improving health care as well as saving the lives of preterm babies in Lithuania is extremely significant.

© Neišnešiotukas

The Preemie Simulator Paul is now playing an enormous role in the Lithuanian healthcare system for saving the smallest of lives. This realistic and advanced technology helps healthcare professionals to train and prepare for the treatment of premature infants. The NICU is a high-stress environment where every second counts in the treatment of the most vulnerable patients. Thanks to Preemie Simulator Paul, doctors and nurses can train in various risk scenarios to enhance their skills and knowledge. Saving the lives of preterm infants is crucial, and Preemie Simulator Paul is helping our healthcare workforce to be prepared. Let’s continue to support this essential technology.

I am happy to say that we inspire other countries to contribute and bring Paul to local hospitals.