Improved learning and animal welfare are just a couple benefits of the Haptic Cow and Haptic Horse, two simulation models that allow students to carry out virtual reproductive and abdominal exams in a risk-free environment.

Bovine veterinarians routinely perform bovine rectal palpation as part of a clinical exam for pregnancy diagnosis and fertility assessment. In horses, rectal palpation is used to diagnose several colic conditions including pelvic flexure impaction, twisted intestinal tract, and displacement of the large colon. The virtual touch technology in the haptic models make palpation highly realistic, which creates better prepared and more confident students.

 “Students can work through the mechanics of the exam on the model before they touch a live animal,” says Dr. Jennifer Roberts, assistant professor for the Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences. “From an animal welfare standpoint, we’re using fewer live animals during teaching and we’re also making the students more proficient when they move on to examine a live animal.”

Though the exteriors of the models look simplistic—basically a hollow back end of a cow or horse—Roberts says the shells are important for placing students in the context of being behind a live animal, giving them the mindset that they are examining a real animal.

Each model starts out with a basic scenario, which can be made more complex as students advance. In the Haptic Cow, the most basic level includes just the pelvis and the cervix. When students become comfortable locating and palpating those structures, the uterus can be added, then pregnancy and other scenarios.

The College is one of only two veterinary schools in the United States to purchase these models for student education. All first-year veterinary students used them, and their feedback was overwhelmingly positive, according to Roberts.