The world’s first interactive microsurgery training center for laboratory animals has opened in Taipei. The center, established by Taiwan’s National Applied Research Laboratories, will significantly improve surgical success rates while reducing the number of animal lives sacrificed for medical research.
The center combines in-person training as well as remote and streaming capabilities. The teaching system allows 12 trainees to perform procedures simultaneously, with instructors monitoring and providing real-time corrections. Common mistakes can be instantly shared across all screens to prevent repeated errors. They have also developed bionic teaching aids such as skin and blood vessels, allowing beginners to practice before using live animals for surgery and greatly reducing the sacrifice of experimental animals during teaching and training. Lab director Chien Hsien-ching (秦咸靜) says these practices have led to a nearly 100% survival rate for lab mice after surgery, compared to previous success rates of less than 80%.
University of California, Davis’ Dr. Chen Yi-chieh (陳怡杰), who spearheaded the initiative, says he had the idea to open the facility two years ago. He stresses that although some people may think a mouse is not worth much, it is still a life. He says in the past, a trainee may have had to dissect 50 mice to learn the correct techniques, but with the help of training at the new center, the sacrifice of lab animals can be greatly minimized.