Less smelly than chicken drumsticks

Emergency and orthopaedic doctors Elizabeth and Anthony Bateman from Britain describe their method of making a bone simulator for intraosseous cannulation training:

  • Take up to one Crunchie bar per trainee (leave in wrapper!) – this simulates the cancellous bone that is cannulated.
  • Tightly plaster cast with four layers of polyester cast tape (12.5 cm width matches closely to Crunchie bar length), cutting lengths of the cast tape as needed prior to immersing in water – this simulates the hard cortical bone.
  • Foam padding, or two layers of wool band from the plaster room, can be added to simulate soft tissue.


A quick google reveals it can be a challenge getting Crunchie bars in the United States. Maybe there’s a suitable honeycomb-centred alternative. If not you can resort to ordering them from Amazon.
Intraosseus access simulation: the Crunchie solution
Emerg Med J. 2010 Dec;27(12):961

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