A Nottingham expert has used 3D printing to create an incredible human body replica to train emergency surgeons.
Richard Arm, from Nottingham Trent University, made the model from silicone gels and fibres to help prepare trainee doctors for the experience of operating on chest organs.
The eerie creation even ‘breathes’ through imitation lungs that inflate and deflate and ‘bleeds’ with the help of an artificial pump to mimic surgery against the clock during blood loss.
Warning: Images and video below which some people may find disturbing
The research is in collaboration with the Ministry of Defence’s Royal Centre for Defence Medicine and Nottingham’s Queen’s Medical Centre and could be used to help improve battlefield surgery.
Richard used CT scans of real organs to create lifelike simulations of the heart, lungs and vessels in the chest.
The outer skin uses a life-cast of an anonymous model and can be cut into with a scalpel and seamlessly resealed to allow for repeated mock surgeries.
“The aim is to allow trainee surgeons the psychological space to prepare for real life surgery using immersive environments and realistic representations of human anatomy,” said Richard, a research fellow and PhD candidate at the university’s school of art and design.
Video: Watch the body’s lungs breathe and heart pump as the chest is opened
“By communicating the experience of performing cardiothoracic surgery, surgeons can be better prepared for live surgery by improving their surgical skills and enhancing post-operative outcomes for patients.”
The imitation organs provide tactile simulations of living tissue by varying in hardness – such as around a heart’s blood vessels – to give a realistic feel.
The prototype went on public display at Trauma Innovation 2016, hosted near Birmingham on 27 and 28 September.
Surgeons will provide feedback on the prototype before two models are then produced for the MoD by December 2017.
The research will also explore how future models can be made cost-effective, with higher and lower spec body parts for different types of training scenarios.
Plans are being made to expand the research to create other lifelike organs including the brain, eyes, stomach, pancreas, liver and kidneys, and the vascular system in a person’s legs.
Colonel Peter Mahoney CBE, Emeritus Professor of Anaesthesia, Defence Medical Services, said: “This is a really exciting and innovative collaboration with Nottingham Trent University.
“The ability to place clinically realistic surgical and anaesthetic training models into simulations of austere military environments is of great value to military medicine.
“As well as providing a training platform for our surgical teams, the thoracic trauma trainer will be of benefit to our pre-hospital Medical Emergency Response Teams.”
Professor Tilak Dias, a supervisor of the project at Nottingham Trent University, said: “Richard’s work shows how art and science can be combined to improve the way critical surgery is performed.
“By enhancing the learning experience of surgeons, we can ensure they are better prepared for real life situations where their skills and knowledge are relied upon to save people’s lives.”
