Synthetic Tissues Help Medical Students Practice Basic Surgery

A new artificial tissue material that looks, feels, and bleeds just like real skin, muscles, and vessels will allow students to practice their surgical skills.

Researchers at Colorado State University (CSU; Fort Collins, USA) developed the new tissue substitute, which consists of layers of silicone that more accurately simulates skin, connective tissue, and muscle. Additionally, the material contains blood vessels that are connected to a reservoir to simulate realistic bleeding. The artificial tissue layers may have realistic colors for different tissues, or may be translucent for better three-dimensional (3D) visualization of the procedure being learned. The tissues can be used to form artificial replicas of sections of human and animal bodies--such as an abdominal wall--giving students a realistic learning environment that helps to bridge the gap between classroom lectures and performing surgical procedures (such as cuts and sutures) on real human or animal patients.


"It is a significant, stressful leap for medical and veterinary students from the classroom to the surgery suite,” said Dean Hendrickson, DVM, director of the CSU Veterinary Teaching Hospital (Fort Collins, USA), and one of the inventors. "Industry standards for training sometimes actually teach incorrect techniques, or skills that don't translate into real-world situations, so students don't have the ability to realistically prepare for surgery before a live patient. These artificial simulations help students master their technique, dexterity, and confidence before they operate for the first time on a person or someone's pet.”

Related Links:
Colorado State University
CSU Veterinary Teaching Hospital