From clinical brief to classroom in twelve months.

Adverse safety incidents double for overweight and obese patients. Every nursing student will treat them, and the interventions differ in ways a standard manikin can't test. R42 takes its name from the 42% of the US population living with overweight.

Aston University brought RIB that clinical spec as a single brief: a compromised airway, diabetic comorbidities, the numerous skin pathologies common in more vulnerable patients, and the practical realities of patient handling and care in a heavier body. A body that presents several compounding clinical challenges at once, built into one manikin durable enough for daily teaching use.

R42 started as a 3D scan of a real bariatric patient. From there, digital and traditional clay sculpting built the anatomy, and a hybrid of conventional mould-making and 3D-printed mould techniques turned it into a manufacturable product. An internal skeleton gives it the weight and structure to be moved and handled the way a real patient is.. R42 is the first manikin with fully 3D-printed internal architecture, using a patent-pending articulation and strength system. That hybrid approach, digital scan through to physical mould, gave RIB the ability to resolve anatomical problems with the confidence and speed a fully traditional process doesn't allow.

R42 was launched at the ASPiH conference in Brighton in November 2023, and installed at Aston University before the end of that year, with a second unit following in early 2024. It supports training across CPR, intubation, IV access, catheterisation, and manual handling.

R42 is now in more than 40 educational institutions globally [figure to confirm], among them Aston University. It's also made a less expected appearance: the bariatric manikin featured in Tom Scott's YouTube documentary on Sheffield Hallam University's Clinical Simulation team.

Twelve months after the brief, R42 was in Aston's teaching programme.

R42 is now in more than 40 educational institutions globally.