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Issue link: https://digital.macdirectory.com/i/401116
5 Months Ago: May 2014 ZERO RISK BRAIN SURGERY A neurosurgeon carefully manipulates her scalpel slicing across a patient's forehead. Red blood oozes from a thin incision. She peels away human skin and draws a small x across exposed bone to drill a drainage hole. If the drainage hole isn't placed precisely in one spot, any slip could lead to paralysis, memory loss or death. Under this high-pressure situation, human error could be fatal, so practice makes perfect. Yet how do you practice on fresh flesh, or realistic human tissue and skulls? Frank Bova, professor of neurosurgery at the University of Florida medical school has a unique answer. He utilizes a unique 3-D printing application that allows neurosurgery residents to slice into skull and brain tissue models with zero risk. By inputting patient's X-rays, MRI's and CT scan data into a 3-D printer, Dr. Bova can print an exact replica of the patient's head and spine, including bone to brain matter. Bova's 3-D printed simulator offers the best of technology and medical expertise: exact anatomical detail, realistic feel and interactivity. Not to mention it's a cheaper alternative. Medical educators can evaluate a resident's developing skill, as well as specific training methods. Practicing on "almost real" brain tissue and skulls not only relieves stress in class, but eventually, in the operating room. MacDirectory 25 DePartMent HISTORY By LISA HILL 5 Years Ago: 2009 A CLOSE ANCESTOR? She's called Ida, she's 47 million years old and could be the "Rosetta Stone" that connects the ancestry of humans, as well as other modern primates. Discovered in 1983 by an amateur fossil hunter at the Messel volcanic pit in Germany, this primate fossil remained in a private collection for over 20 years. Oslo University's Natural History Museum recently assembled a team to study the fossil Darwinius masillae (named after Darwin's 200th birthday), which scientists nicknamed "Ida". Ida was preserved at a very interesting moment in her life, with all her baby teeth and in the process of forming permanent teeth. Her development age provides extensive DNA information for genealogical studies.