Support the College of Veterinary Medicine
Skip to Main Content

College of Veterinary Medicine

Related Sites Looking for the hospital?
Menu

Modeling Skill

Perspectives Magazine

Select

Silicone models are building proficiency in delicate tasks

With the surgical cut of the belly finally stitched up, the veterinary students could take a deep breath after practicing their stitching techniques. Once the wound was closed, the surgical blankets were peeled off the patient to reveal the bright, bubbly face of an Elmo doll, complete with a silicon implant on its stomach.

The Elmo model and silicone stomach were created by Bea Biddinger, LVT, Small Animal Teaching Lab Manager, to give students the chance to practice surgical procedures and syringe techniques on something that feels similar to skin.

To enhance the students' educational experience, Biddinger thought it would be helpful for students to practice on something that feels like skin, without actually having to practice on real animal skin. This inspired Biddinger, formerly of the emergency and critical care unit in the Hospital, to take a silicone-making class in Pennsylvania to learn how to create models that look and feel like skin, and are also reusable.

One of Biddinger's first silicone creations was a cow's tail designed to practice venopuncture, which is difficult to do because it's tough to replicate without a real cow.
03 modeling biddinger02

"It's not very pleasant to have that many students crank up the cow's tail and poke them to learn how to draw blood," Biddinger said.

After positive student reviews from the cow's tail model, Biddinger was inspired to continue making new educational products for different simulated situations. After many failed experiments with different compound combinations, she has a vast collection of skin models for students to practice syringe techniques on, along with finding and hitting veins. The skin itself is made from a softer silicone, but a more firm variety is used to simulate the tough layers of the muscle underneath.

Biddinger said the silicone materials give the students muscle memory and allow them a chance to practice their techniques without the stress of practicing on a living, breathing animal. "It can decrease the student's anxiety about doing the actual procedure before they work on somebody's pet," Biddinger said. "In real life, the pets aren't going to sit still and they're not going to lay there like a lump like the model does. When they're jumping around, and afraid, or biting, the students are under more anxiety."

Spartan Innovator

Biddinger's silicone concepts are a breakthrough in veterinary surgical teaching. This prompted the MSU Innovation team to invite her to the MSU Innovation Celebration to showcase her educational models. The Innovation Celebration brought together entrepreneurs and gave them the chance to network and pitch their products to possible investors.

A recent study demonstrated that using models of animals is as effective as using live animals for training clinicians in neonatal intubation skills. Biddinger is a co-author of the paper, published in the Journal of Advanced Neonatal Care.

Even in the face of significant success with the models, she is down to earth about her work. "I don't feel like my models are truly inventions. It just feels weird to say that," Biddinger said.

Prior to classes starting this fall, the silicone models were perfected, tweaked and remolded just in time to give the students a new chance to learn and practice surgical techniques that can make a world of difference in their education.

Posted: September 2014
Contact: Casey Williamson