Pennsylvania hospital gets a hand with surgery prep from 3D-printed body parts

Fountain Hill, Pa.-based St. Luke's Hospital utilizes a 3D printer to fabricate various body parts for surgeons to use as a training tool, according to WFMZ-TV.

The 3D printer creates skeletal parts covered in synthetic skin and can add injuries to any body part for staff to practice suturing techniques.

Since receiving the 3D printer through a grant one month ago, St. Luke's team members have been making about two body parts a week.

"We can make dark skin, light skin. We can make the skin have more fat, have more muscle," Megan Augustine, network director of assimilation at St. Luke's, told WFMZ-TV. "Obviously, no two humans are built the same way."

Some 3D printer body parts take anywhere from two to 100 hours to complete. St. Luke's reports training material costs have decreased by 75 percent.

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