Sketchy

Medical learning platform Sketchy has built a reputation as a visual learning tool, but it noticed that students struggle to develop real patient communication skills and clinical judgment. Existing static content or simple multiple-choice videos were insufficient to reproduce a patient's subtle emotional shifts or uncertain situations.

To address this, Sketchy integrated ElevenLabs' voice AI to build realistic patient simulations. Unlike existing robotic voice models, ElevenLabs allows control over emotionally charged intonation, pace, and tone, enabling it to convey subtle cues such as a patient's hesitation or confusion.

Key features of the implementation process are as follows:

• Emotional expressiveness: Custom voice design tailored to a patient's personality (hesitant, warm, firm, etc.)
• Technical precision: Pronunciation correction using a phoneme dictionary to accurately read medical figures such as '98 °F'
• Interaction-centered learning: Practicing clinical reasoning and empathy through actual conversation, going beyond simple memorization

Through these changes, students are moving away from passively solving multiple-choice questions and are instead practicing clinical skills in a dynamic conversational environment resembling what they might encounter on an actual hospital ward, boosting their confidence.