Alberta has a pulse and bleeds when cut, but she’s a canine made completely of synthetic material.
Alberta may look like a ‘scary dog,’ but she was created to provide veterinary students with a body for surgical practice.
According to SynDaver, vet students learn surgical skills by practicing on live shelter animals, and the animals are then euthanized after the labs. Having a cadaver for veterinary students to practice on eliminates that need.
“The campaign will begin to end a process known as terminal surgery labs,” SynDaver explains. “The product will immediately end the need for terminal surgery labs in veterinary medical schools and represents the beginning of the end of animal testing in general.”
“Animal cadavers are bad,” SynDaver continues. “Not just because they were once live animals but because once the tissues are frozen and or preserved, they’re not the same anymore, so they don’t feel the same and they don’t perform the same,” said Dr. Christopher Sakezles, the founder of SynDaver Labs. Synthetic dogs like Alberta are going to give students more of a lifelike experience with the tissue.
The synthetic canine is detailed and realistic so it will give veterinary students a platform to practice surgery, SynDaver says.
“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.”
Syndaver labs is seeking $24 million in a crowdfunding campaign, to be able to five 20 synthetic dogs to every accredited veterinary medicine college in the world. It says the schools will receive the canines for free. If more than $24 million is raised, SynDaver says it will start creating a synthetic cat, followed by a horse and cow.
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[Featured Image Credit: SynDaver Labs]
Synthetic Canine Could Save Real Dogs’ Lives is an article from: LifeDaily