Simulation With CARL

Technical Specifications

Welcome to the CARL Community

CARL and AHead Simulations were created in 2015-2018 to solve a problem with education of new clinicians - to improve the safety and quality of training within hearing healthcare. Upon use in these settings, CARL has continued to drive value across several different aspects of the industry such as clinical training, clinical research, and patient consultations.

The CARL simulators have been developed based on years of research at Western University and the National Centre for Audiology. Through rapid prototyping and lean manufacturing, CARL continues to improve every day. CARL’s ears have been fine-tuned for material properties and acoustical properties for over 4 years, and the CARL manikins and Camera CARL have been active in continuous improvement throughout manufacturing.

The CARL training system represents a platform in which you can realize the advantage to experiential learning and the ease of having a ‘perfect patient’ on hand at all times.

We hope you enjoy your CARL system as much as we have enjoyed making it.

Cheers,
AHead Simulations Team.

Options for your CARL Simulation System

CARL is your perfect patient. Our varying options are packaged to suit the needs and goals different professionals have in varying environments.

BASE CARL

Included items
- CARL simulator
- 2 sets of CARL Large Ears
- Hardware installation bag
- Quickstart documents
- AHead stickers

This product is for:
People who want a realistic
patient simulator at an
accessible cost. You do not
need any in-canal
visualization or any further
technology-enhanced
features.

Camera CARL

Includes everything in Base
CARL, PLUS:

- Camera System inside CARL
to view ear canal on either ear
- 1 set of CARL Large Ears
(with transparent canals)
- USB cord for camera


This product is for:
Gold-standard training,
research, and demonstration
opportunity to reflect object
positioning inside of CARL’s
ear canals. Useful for device
insertion, device fitting, EMI,
Cerumen management,
instruments, etc.

Baby CARL

Included items:
- Baby-CARL simulator
- 2 sets of Baby-CARL Ears
- Hardware installation bag
- Quickstart documents
- AHead stickers

This product is for:
Pediatric-specific
professionals who are looking
for a patient-realistic pediatric
model for any of their training,
research, or demonstration
purposes.

Base CARL

Realism
Replicating the anatomy and acoustics of a human volunteer for any of your uses. CARL is your perfect patient for any training, research, or demonstration environment in which you need a patient-realistic model with head, shoulders, and ears.

Lightweight yet Durable
Built to withstand travelling and extended use, as well as hosting a variety of mounting options for optimal set up in your environment. CARL is tested to be classroom/student safe, and capable of travelling around the world.

Simulation Made Simple
CARL is designed to simulate your patient, not your equipment. Use any equipment from any manufacturer, any device, any technique on CARL. No complicated set up or programming - unbox him and you’re ready to go!

Modular/Expandable
CARL is made to be as modular as possible to support in-head feedback systems (see CameraCARL) and a wide array of ear anatomies available.

Camera CARL

An Inside View
With Camera CARL, receive a video feed inside of CARL's ear canal for viewing objects, equipment, and anything else that happens to find its way inside CARL’s canal!

Performance Metrics
Utilizing CARL allows you to see locations of object's inside of CARL's ear canal. Track clinician performance and run tests to evaluate competency. How far from the eardrum is my probe?

Realism
Replicating the anatomy and acoustics of a human volunteer for any of your uses. CARL is your perfect patient for any training, research, or demonstration environment in which you need a patient-realistic model with head, shoulders, and ears

Lightweight yet Durable
Built to withstand travelling and extended use, as well as hosting a variety of mounting options for optimal set up in your environment. CARL is tested to be classroom/student safe, and capable of travelling around the world.

Baby-CARL

Realism for Pediatrics
Replicating the anatomy and acoustics of a pediatric volunteer for any of your uses and encountering pediatric-specific challenges such as smaller sizes, smaller room to work.

Lightweight yet Durable
Built to withstand travelling and extended use, as well as hosting a variety of mounting options for optimal set up in your environment. Baby-CARL is tested to be classroom/student safe, and capable of travelling around the world.

Simulation Made Simple
Baby-CARL is designed to simulate your pediatric patient, not your equipment. Use any equipment from any manufacturer, any device, any technique on Baby-CARL. No complicated set up or programming - unbox him and you’re ready to go!

Modular/Expandable
Baby-CARL is engineered to be modular so any future update or future anatomical options are available as an add-on to your current Baby-CARL system.

Technical Specifications

Model Base CARL Camera CARL Baby CARL
Head Circumference at Forehead 635 mm (25.0”) 635 mm (25.0”) 475 mm (18.7”)
Head Circumference at Nose 650 mm (25.6”) 650 mm (25.6”) 440 mm (17.3”)
Head Circumference at Chin 515 mm (20.3”) 515 mm (20.3”) 345 mm (13.6”)
Full Height 360 mm (14.17”) 360 mm (14.17”) 250 mm (10.2”)
Shoulder Width 264 mm (10.4”) 264 mm (10.4”) 128 mm (5.04”)
Head Width (Ear to Ear) 180 mm (7.09”) 180 mm (7.09”) 130 mm (5.12”)
Head Depth (Nose to Back)
Resonance Frequency 2.7 kHz 2.7 kHz 2.7 kHz
Shipping Dimensions 305mm x 305mm x 457mm (12” x 12” x 18”) 305mm x 305mm x 457mm (12” x 12” x 18”) 254mm x 254mm x 381mm (10” x 10” x 15”)
Weight (CARL with 2 ears installed) 1.38 kg (3.05 lbs) 1.38 kg (3.05 lbs) 0.57 kg (1.25 lbs)
Shipping Weight 2.72 kg (6.0 lbs) 3.40 kg (7.5 lbs) 1.59 kg (3.5 lbs)
Material Composition Polished ABS Polished ABS Polished ABS
Ear Connector 6-32 Socket Head Cap Screw 6-32 Socket Head Cap Screw 6-32 Socket Head Cap Screw
Compatibility Camera Module, Ear Anatomies Camera Module, Ear Anatomies Configured for future add-ons
Minimum Temp -30°C (-22° F) -30°C (-22° F) -30°C (-22° F)
Maximum Temp 50°C (122° F) 50°C (122° F) 50°C (122° F)
Software Requirements None None None

CARL Ears

Anatomical Realism

Developed directly from clinical CT scans to represent patient-specific anatomies with over 5 years of fine-tuning and optimization to find the best material properties for your use. CARL Ears are the closest to patients that you can get in the world.

Acoustic Realism

Acoustics have been fine-tuned to provide a clinically relevant response for the fitting and testing of hearing aids. Acoustics are replicated through effective material selection and the use of a full-ear canal to the eardrum. (see full acoustic measurements below)

Built to Last
Ears have been tested in a variety of environments along with industry-leading suppliers of reliable material characteristics. Can withstand even the most inexperienced clinicians!

Variety of Options for Your Use Case
With your CARL ear anatomies, you have a choice of anatomy, skin tone, and opaque vs transparent ear canal options (seen below)

CARL Ear Options (Compatible with Base + Camera CARL)

CARL has been built with modularity in mind meaning that multiple ear anatomies can be installed into the same CARL head. Please read the chart below to decide which ear anatomies may fit your purposes and which anatomies will best suit your use cases.

CARL Anatomy Colour Ear Canal Type
CARL Large Light Transparent *(included in Camera CARL)
Light Opaque *(included in Base CARL)
Light EMI
Dark Opaque *(included in Base CARL)
CARL Small Light Opaque
Light EMI
Dark Opaque
CARL Bendy Light Opaque
Light EMI
Dark Opaque