This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.ĭata Availability: All relevant data are within the manuscript.įunding: All authors are employees of Roche Innovation Center Basel, F. Received: DecemAccepted: JPublished: June 23, 2021Ĭopyright: © 2021 Bainier et al. PLoS ONE 16(6):Įditor: Sompop Bencharit, Virginia Commonwealth University, UNITED STATES These 3D printed models could lead the way to the complete replacement of live animals for stereotaxic surgery training in laboratories and veterinary studies.Ĭitation: Bainier M, Su A, Redondo RL (2021) 3D printed rodent skin-skull-brain model: A novel animal-free approach for neurosurgical training. This project is a significant step forward in implementing the replacement, reduction, and refinement (3Rs) principles to animal experimentation. They can be absolute replacements for stereotaxic surgery techniques practice including but not limited to craniotomies, screw placement, brain injections, implantations and cement applications. Our real-size 3D printed replicas could enable cost- and time-efficient, animal-free neurosurgery training. They can be made rapidly and at low cost.
They were perceived as very realistic, and considered an excellent alternative to cadaveric skulls for training purposes. The 3D printed rat and mouse skin-skull-brain models received an overwhelmingly positive response. Participants evaluated models fidelity compared to cadaveric skulls and their appropriateness for educational use. Ten qualified rodent neurosurgeons then performed a variety of stereotaxic surgeries on these rat and mouse 3D printed models. In order to simulate rodent skin, we added a rectangular 1mm thick clear silicone sheet on the skull. We filled the skulls with Polyurethane expanding foam to mimic the brain. We used 3D models obtained from microCT pictures and printed them using materials that would provide the most accurate haptic feedback for each model-PC-ABS material for the rat and Durable resin for the mouse.
Here we have used three-dimensional (3D) printing technologies to create rat and mouse skin-skull-brain models, specifically conceived for rodent stereotaxic surgery training. There is currently no animal-free training option for neurosurgeries stereotactic techniques are learned and practiced on dead animals. In neuroscience, stereotactic brain surgery is a standard yet challenging technique for which laboratory and veterinary personnel must be sufficiently and properly trained.
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