We’ve created training models for lumbar drain placement (using a commercially available spine model with ballistic gelatin as tissue and latex as the dura, allowing for spinal flexion) , external ventricular drain (EVD) placement (using an LED circuit to indicate when the catheter makes contact with the ventricles, high acyl gellan as brain parenchyma, with accurate skull positioning), and microvascular surgery (using a PVA-gelatin mixture to cast vasculature and aneurysms that have suture retention strength similar to human or animal tissue). The models are used by novice physicians and extenders to simulate variant anatomies, gain ample practice and sharpen their surgical skills.
