A new dissection table at Liverpool Hospital allows medical staff and students to slice and manipulate digital bodies then put them back together with the press of a button.
The two-metre long Anatomage Table takes life-sized images such as x-rays, ultrasounds or MRIs and creates 3D versions that can be manipulated, rotated, dissected and layered using a touch-screen interface.
The $80,000 table – located at the hospital’s Ingham Institute Clinical Skills and Simulation Centre – was purchased by the University of NSW for its South Western Sydney Clinical School.
The data in the software comes from scans of dead people – or cadavers – sliced at 0.1mm in thickness so it is highly accurate. The software designers have sliced these bodies at high resolution levels and built models around the anatomy.
Earlier this week, NSW Health Minister Jillian Skinner and Member for Menai Melanie Gibbons were given a demonstration of the new technology, and both were very impressed.
“The Anatomage Table displays true human anatomy in real life size, which makes it a really exciting advance in the education tools available in south western Sydney,” Mrs Skinner said.
“The powerful workstation features means we can use it for radiology, surgery case review, patient consultation and research purposes, as well as anatomy education.
“In the past 18 months, the Ingham Institute Clinical Skills and Simulation Centre has delivered more than 3,800 hours of training – about 70 per cent of it to South Western Sydney Local Health District and Liverpool Hospital staff, as well as students from UNSW and the University of Western Sydney.
“This hands-on experience will translate to better frontline patient care in the months and years to come.”
Ms Gibbons said she was very proud that Liverpool Hospital is one of only two Sydney hospitals to have an Anatomage Table.
“I congratulate the Ingham Institute Clinical Skills Centre, which, through a partnership between South Western Sydney Local Health District, UNSW and the University of Western Sydney, is developing a range of excellent resources to enhance training of the next generation of health professionals in south western Sydney.
“The people of south-western Sydney will benefit enormously from this innovative technology,” Ms Gibbons said.
