Terminal surgery labs use healthy, live animals for surgical training of veterinary students. They are normally anesthetized for the procedure and euthanized when done.
Veterinarian David Danielson, who operated on live dogs to learn everything from neutering to brain surgery, said, “I do feel I carry that sin. I still feel guilty about it.”
To avoid killing innocent animals, Tampa-based medical technology firm SynDaver (the world’s leading manufacturer of synthetic humans) has developed a synthetic dog, complete with tissues and organs.
The synthetic dog is designed to breathe, bleed, and even die. It has bones, muscles, ligaments, joints, and even a heart with a heartbeat, a circulatory system, and it bleeds when cut with surgical scalpels. It is an extremely useful tool for veterinary students, as students can learn to perform different surgeries on these SynDaver Synthetic Canines. If something goes wrong, they have to figure out how to handle the situation as this synthetic canine will respond in a similar way as a real one.
The company explains, “The canine utilizes SynDaver’s patented SynTissue, which mimics living tissue, includes a full list of functioning bodily systems, and has the capability to simulate customized diseases, illnesses, and medical complications.”
Image courtesy NBC News
