Anatomage Inc. echnology brings virtual dissection tables to campus, replacing traditional cadaver labs
When Sandra Bandimere, laboratory coordinator at CSU Pueblo, is hunched over a sleek, six-foot touchscreen table, swiping through layers of human anatomy with the ease of scrolling through a smartphone.
“This is Vicky,” Bandimere explains, gesturing to the life-size image of a cadaver displayed on the screen. “She’s a 26-year-old woman who died of gastric cancer and donated her body for medical research.”
The minutely detailed, 3D virtual cadaver appears in vivid color in the university’s Anatomage lab where Vickie is recreated from actual body scans of real human donors. With a simple swipe, students can peel back layers revealing pink organs and muscles, blue veins, and finally the skeleton beneath. It’s technology that seems straight out of science fiction and once featured on the medical drama Grey’s Anatomy.
The new Anatomage Lab is a leap forward for CSU Pueblo’s biology and health science programs. What was once a 24-computer lab that saw maybe one student per week has been transformed into a state-of-the-art learning environment that will serve students across multiple disciplines.
The lab houses two Anatomage Inc. digital dissection tables, along with tablets loaded with anatomy software, large display screens, and an Anatomage Wall system. Each table costs approximately $90,000 and offers capabilities that traditional cadaver labs simply cannot match.
“The whole thing eliminates safety issues with chemicals,” Bandimere explained. “Students can dissect and reset, keep going through. You can isolate exactly the muscle you want to see.”
Unlike traditional cadavers that must be carefully preserved and can only be dissected once, these digital bodies can be explored endlessly. Students can touch any structure on the screen to identify it instantly, rotate the body to view it from any angle, and dive deep into cellular-level details through histologic features.
The technology includes five different digital cadavers, each with their own medical histories. Beyond Vicky, there’s Victor, Hans, Carla, and Carl, who was executed by lethal injection but donated his body to science. The system also features comparative anatomy with various animals including dogs, cats, frogs, mice, and even a tortoise.
“Many students go into surgery and subspecialties, and having them understand spatial relationships is critical to becoming good clinicians,” Bandimere noted. “Anyone doing a physical exam has to be able to visualize body structure. This helps lay a foundation to build better skills in clinical medicine.”
The lab was made possible through a $200,000 National Science Foundation instrumentation grant that Bandimere wrote with colleague Annette Gabaldón. Additional funding came from a university Title IX grant, allowing CSU Pueblo to acquire all three tables.
Students haven’t had the chance to interact with the technology yet since it’s summer break, but that will change in just a few weeks when they return to campus. The lab will serve anatomy and physiology students, biology majors, zoology classes, and potentially nursing students.
“We’ll have a schedule where teachers can bring in a classroom at a specific time and day,” Bandimere said. “Probably with anatomy classes, we’ll have a set day and time that they always have this lab.”
The tables accommodate about eight students each, while the large display screens ensure everyone can see clearly without crowding around the table. The intuitive touchscreen interface means students already know how to use it.
“It’s so exciting,” Bandimere said, fresh from a two-day training conference where she learned advanced features of the system. “This really brings the future of gross anatomy and clinical science education to CSU Pueblo.”
For students who previously had limited access to cadaver-based learning, this technology democratizes anatomical education. Where once only instructors and a few graduate students could handle actual cadavers, now every student gets hands-on experience with incredibly detailed human anatomy.
The university is planning a grand opening celebration soon to showcase the new facility to the campus community.
“These students are so lucky,” Bandimere said, watching the digital heart pump blood through Vicky’s circulatory system. “This is the future of medical education, and we’re bringing it right here to Pueblo.”
