111 - Successful Implementation of a Plastination Program Utilizing a Cost- and Time-saving Room Temperature Method

Poster Board Number: 111
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Abstract Body : Introduction and Objective:

Plastination is the process by which organic tissue is indefinitely preserved in a manner that largely maintains the specimen’s original appearance (Șora, 2016). The finished products, known as “plastinates," have the desirable properties of being odorless, nontoxic, and physically durable (Șora, 2016). These characteristics allow specimens to be saved as a library collection while avoiding hazardous storage conditions such as submersion in formaldehyde. In addition, they can be used in any setting without the need for specialized ventilation, personal protective equipment, or supervision (Klaus et al., 2018). Unlike artificial models, this technique has the advantage of highlighting anatomical and pathological variation.

Given these desirable characteristics, there is interest among educators in utilizing plastinates in anatomy curricula (Klaus et al., 2018). However, barriers such as prohibitive cost and/or the lengthy, months-long timescale of traditional plastination protocols often make in-house production difficult to achieve.

With these challenges in mind, the objective was to determine if, at a reasonable cost and with no prior resources other than a fume hood, an in-house program for producing plastinated human anatomy specimens could be successfully developed.

Materials and Methods:

Specimens were obtained from the Anatomical Gift Program at the Frank H. Netter, MD School of Medicine at Quinnipiac University in accordance with the ethical consent policy. To reduce cost and processing duration, a room temperature S 10 plastination protocol previously described by Ottone et al. (2015) was employed, with a temporal modification. Most of the processing equipment and chemicals were purchased from BioDur®, with a total cost of approximately $6000.

Results:

The modified protocol originally described by Ottone et al. (2015) was successfully implemented, producing thus far three high-quality plastinates. Based on the size of the specimen, the time course for complete processing was 35-40 days. Each preparation required less than 12 hours of in-person attention, a decrease of about 16 hours from published data.

Conclusion:

We were able to, at a modest cost and with no prior resources in place other than a fume hood, produce high-quality plastinated anatomical specimens for use in human anatomy education.

Significance/Implication:

Our work serves to demonstrate to others in the field of anatomy education that it is feasible to develop a successful “in-house” program to produce plastinates using minimal additional resources to those commonly available at institutions of higher learning. Avenues for further inquiry include protocol modifications to lower the process time even further, as well as for study of students’ perceptions of the utility of the plastinates to their learning of human anatomy.

References:

Klaus, R. M., Royer, D. F., & Stabio, M. E. (2018). Use and perceptions of plastination among medical anatomy educators in the United States. Clinical Anatomy, 31(2), 282-292.

Ottone, N. E., Cirigliano, V., Bianchi, H. F., Medan, C. D., Algieri, R. D., Borges Brum, G., & Fuentes, R. (2015). New contributions to the development of a plastination technique at room temperature with silicone. Anatomical Science International, 90(2), 126-135.

Șora, M. C. (2016). The general protocol for the S10 technique. Research and Clinical Medicine, I(1), 14-18.