FAQs

SynDaver products may be substituted for traditional models in such tests by the nature of their similarity to the actual-use environment. This resemblance is characterized by matching the mechanical, physical and chemical properties, geometry and organ-to-organ interaction. On the simplest level, individual synthetic organs (rectus femoris muscle, small intestine, abdominal aorta, etc.) are constructed to ensure they replicate the geometry (shape, diameter, wall thickness, etc.) of a particular portion of the target anatomy. In addition, the individual synthetic tissue analogs used to fabricate these components are formulated so that they exhibit chemical and physical properties (water, fiber and salt content, as well as strength or modulus in shear, coefficient of static or dynamic friction, surface energy, dielectric properties, heat capacity, porosity, etc.) that mimic those of the target tissue. Finally, the components are assembled in such a way that the interaction between adjacent components is similar to that expected in the target tissue. That is, the body part is designed so that inter-facial properties, such as the coefficient of dynamic friction (inter-organ), and mechanical attachments also mimic those exhibited in the target anatomy.

Our research-grade products are used by every major medical device manufacturer in the world to replace live animals and human cadavers in medical device development studies. Our products also are used in hospitals, medical schools and simulation centers for training in basic suturing skills, microvascular anastomosis, central line placement, chest tube placement, breast surgery, liposuction, oral and nasal intubation, tracheotomy and cricothyroidotomy, coronary angioplasty and stenting, and a wide variety of other surgical procedures. They also are used in secondary through college level anatomy courses and dissection labs.

Yes. All of our live tissue validation tests and human cadaver studies are performed in house. We also provide cadaver study services for our clients as part of medical device testing programs and custom model development projects.

Yes, and while we can use this capability to rapidly produce hard plastic and synthetic rubber anatomical models, this is not our focus. We have all manner of rapid prototyping and DICOM-STL translation capabilities in house, and we routinely fabricate soft tissue models directly from MRI and CT images.

Yes. We have a large library of standard models based on both synthetic designs and CT/MRI images, but a large portion of our work involves creating custom models. These are most commonly fabricated from our library of synthetic human tissues, but we also work with organosilicates (silicone rubber), polyurethanes and other commonly available engineering materials.

Our synthetic “wet” tissues contain a great deal of water, just like living tissues, and, therefore, must be protected from desiccation. Depending on the size of the part, this is accomplished by submerging it in water in a plastic bag, storage bin or body bag when not in use. For long-term storage our products are stored in our storage solution. Immersion tables are recommended for our full bodies. Refrigeration is not required.

Our oldest products are more than 20 years old. In general, SynTissue (wet tissue) products are designed for multiple uses. However, when a consumable component like an organ is destroyed, it may be discarded with ordinary trash or returned to SynDaver for recycling.

In conjunction with our partners, we are always innovating and pushing the envelope in the area of ultra-high-fidelity simulation models. We’re currently working on a number of new animal models and we’re developing a synthetic autonomic nervous system (real-time human physiology computer) for the SynDaver Synthetic Human platform―essentially a full body that can move, breathe and bleed autonomously. We also are developing a complete system of ultra-low-cost partial task trainers based on simplified structures from our full body models.