In today’s PCS webinar, “Affordable AI, Elevated Training: Give Your Simulators the AI-Enabled Voice They’ve Been Missing,” I was thrilled to be joined by two incredible champions of simulation innovation: Nick Stoick, VP of Sales and Read Blumberg, Managing Director of Sales.
Between them, they bring over 30 years of experience to the field—but calling what they do “sales” feels like an oversimplification. These two aren’t just salespeople. They’re solutions consultants, trusted relationship builders, and fierce advocates for our customers.
In my own 20 years in healthcare simulation, I’d place Nick and Read in the top 1% of professionals who are truly passionate about this work, and genuinely invested in seeing their clients succeed—getting to work with them is not just productive, it’s a true privilege.
In fact, it was Nick and Read who first brought the idea of SimVox to our leadership and engineering teams in 2023. After countless conversations with clients and attendees at simulation conferences, a few common questions kept surfacing:
“How can we enhance the realism and interactivity of patient simulators, particularly those with limited or no built-in communication capabilities?”
“How can we bring AI into our simulation center without a sizable investment & commitment?”
“We love the idea of virtual patients for communication training—but we have manikins. How can we bring that same experience to them?”
Their answer became SimVox—an AI-powered voice solution built to give manikins a voice. And not just any voice, but one powered by generative AI, natural language processing, realistic speech synthesis, and scenario-driven logic.
Fast forward to today: SimVox is now being used at over 100 simulation programs, with more than 2,500 simulations run, 1,100+ hours logged, and 53,000+ learner utterances processed.
And no one knows the implementation landscape better than Read Blumberg, who has helped connect 35+ institutions with over 60 SimVox units.
We’ve seen SimVox take on a wide range of roles across the simulation ecosystem. Here are the top three use cases:
SimVox is most commonly used with:
Low & Mid-Fidelity Manikins
High-Fidelity Simulators
Popular Scenarios:
Mental Health scenarios
Gerontology scenarios
Medication Administration
System Assessments (Neuro Sensory, Respiratory, Abdominal)
Pediatric & OB cases using confederates
These scenarios are often pulled from the PCS Library or custom-authored to fit a program’s specific needs.
SimVox brings voice and realism to procedural trainers, including:
IV Arms
Catheterization Trainers
Educational Benefits:
Reinforces cognitive steps
Enhances skill sequencing
Adds communication practice to technical skills
Supports “skill stacking” for more realistic procedural training
In classrooms, SimVox is a favorite in:
Introductory classes
Foundations courses
IPE and Allied Health programs
Here, SimVox supports interactive lessons and offers flexibility outside of the simulation center.
During March's PCS webinar, we asked attendees what they saw as the biggest barrier to adopting AI in simulation training. The #1 answer? “Cost and resource limitations.”
That’s exactly why we included a Cost-Benefit Analysis in our webinar and in conversations like this one.
Let’s break it down:
The average simulation center is open 210 days per year
If you use SimVox just once per operating day, the cost breaks down to just $15/day
That puts it in more inline with a consumable, than capital equipment—making budgeting easier and adoption more feasible
One of the lesser-known but highly impactful benefits of SimVox is how it can redistribute valuable staff time:
SimVox can save up to 150 SP hours per year by handling routine, repetitive case interactions. That means SPs can focus on complex, high-stakes scenarios that require nuanced emotional engagement and detailed feedback.
SimVox can save up to 109 SimTech hours annually. That’s time redirected to:
Maintaining equipment
Supporting multi-room scenarios
Fine-tuning high-fidelity simulations
Let AI handle the routine, repeatable parts—so human staff can focus on what only they can do: complex thinking and expertise.
SimVox wasn’t built in a vacuum—it was born from real conversations with real educators. It’s a practical solution for today’s simulation challenges, offering a way to increase realism and communication training without replacing your current equipment or overextending your staff.
To Nick and Read—thank you for bringing this idea forward. And to all the educators out there: if you’ve ever asked how to bring more voice, more realism, and more flexibility to your sim center without breaking the bank—SimVox might be exactly what you’ve been waiting for.