Animation to help new parents and flag possible regional anaesthetic complications
New parents who receive a spinal or epidural anaesthetic block during childbirth will have better chances of recovering from any possible complications thanks to a new video made by animation students at Nottingham Trent University (NTU).
By Chris Birkle | Published on 19 October 2023
Categories: Press office; School of Art & Design;
New parents who receive a spinal or epidural anaesthetic block during childbirth will have better chances of recovering from any possible complications thanks to a new video made by animation students at Nottingham Trent University (NTU).
A two-minute long digital animation, made by second year students from the Nottingham School of Art & Design, will explain a patient safety initiative recently introduced within maternity services across the NHS.
The students collaborated with a group of obstetric anaesthetists from Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust and Southern Health & Social Care Trust, Northern Ireland, and were asked to develop the animation to show patients how to use a Regional Anaesthetic Alert Bracelet (RA-AB).
The RA-AB is used to monitor the recovery of a patient following a spinal or epidural anaesthetic used during the delivery of a baby. The alert bracelet is placed on the patient’s wrist following a spinal or epidural anaesthetic and provides a specific four-hour time marker at which point the patient should be able to lift her legs.
If the patient is unable to lift a leg then the midwife must be made aware and contact the necessary medical team. The purpose is to allow early identification of a possible complication following a spinal or epidural anaesthetic. Complications that result in permanent harm are extremely rare but the sooner these complications are identified, the greater the chance of successful management.
The team of animation students who made the video include Layla Mazer, Adrian Henry, Bradley Wray, Emma (Morgan) Stowasserova, Tom Moffat, Abbi Rushton-Jones and Paulina Kozlowska.
Paulina, who is studying BA (Hons) Animation at the Nottingham School of Art & Design, said: “This has been a very exciting project to work on as part of my degree. It’s wonderful to know that the work we have done may one day help new parents. There are a number of hospitals who have been showing the animation to their patients.”
Alice Bunce, an Obstetric Anaesthetic Fellow from Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “This was a fantastic opportunity to work with local university students and it has been really exciting to see how audiovisual tools can be used to promote safety projects within the NHS. I presented our work at the national obstetric anaesthetic conference and the animation received universally positive feedback. We are currently in the process of translating the subtitles into seven other languages so as to make the animation more accessible.”
Robert Szczerba, senior lecturer in Animation at NTU, said: “This has been a great live project for our students to be involved in and shows how art and design skills can be used as an education tool to help improve the lives of people who have undergone medical procedures.”
The animation can be accessed via a QR code and watched on a mobile phone. It is available to be watched in English on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4hRhY7OIJ8
Notes for Editors
Press enquiries please contact Chris Birkle, Public Relations Manager, on telephone +44 (0)115 848 2310, or via email.
Nottingham Trent University (NTU) has been named UK ‘University of the Year’ five times in six years, (Times Higher Education Awards 2017, The Guardian University Awards 2019, The Times and Sunday Times 2018 and 2023, Whatuni Student Choice Awards 2023) and is consistently one of the top performing modern universities in the UK. It is the 3rd best modern university in the UK (The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2023).
NTU is the 5th largest UK institution by student numbers, with over 40,000 students and more than 4,400 staff located across five campuses. It has an international student population of almost 8,000 and an NTU community representing over 160 countries.
NTU owns two Queen’s Anniversary Prizes for outstanding achievements in research (2015, 2021). The first recognises NTU’s research in science, engineering, arts and humanities to investigate and restore cultural objects, buildings and heritage. The second was awarded for research on the safety and security of global citizens.
The Research Excellence Framework (2021) classed 83% of NTU’s research activity as either world-leading or internationally excellent. 86% of NTU’s research impact was assessed to be either world-leading or internationally excellent.
NTU is rated 5/5 stars overall and for Teaching, Employability, Internationalisation, Research and Facilities (QS Stars 2022).
NTU is a top five university for widening participation with 25% of NTU students coming from disadvantaged backgrounds (HESA 2021-22). It was the first UK university to sign the Social Mobility Pledge in 2018 and was named ‘University of the Year’ at the UK Social Mobility Awards in 2019,
NTU is the most sustainable university in the UK and 2nd in the world (UI Green Metric University World Rankings, 2022).