Medical technology is always advancing and at Northcentral Technical College, a unique simulator is keeping up with the trend.

It's called iStan and it looks like a dummy, but it teaches students how to respond to many different medical situations.

iStan is a different patient, with different conditions and needs every week.

It breathes, blinks, lives and dies.

NTC was one of the first learning institutions in the country to get ahold of the $250,000 simulator.

What makes iStan special is how real it is.

It responds to medications, makes sounds and talks, and is loaded with working pulmonary and cardiovascular systems.

Denise Barten, a nursing instructor at NTC says patient safety is number one, and clinical study can't give students all the hands-on experience they need.

"Here i can let them give the med and afterwards we can talk about the experience and say, ya know i would never do that again. I've learned my lesson in a safe, controlled environment," she said.

Second semester nursing student Michael Miller says iStan teaches in a way that a textbook cannot.

"Being able to hear the lung sounds, how they actually sound and the different heart tones, things like that really help out to be able to recognize those on a real life patient," Miller said.

A computer is used to control what iStan is doing....and it can be set it up so that students learn countless medical scenarios and trauma.

Students can check pulses, blood pressure, vital signs....and a lot more. The simulator even makes secretions and bleeds.

Because iStan is wireless and mobile, it's shared between the Wausau, Medford and Antigo campuses.

NTC officials say they're the only college in the region with iStan.