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Updated: Jun 26, 2026

Surgical Training for the Implantation of Neocortical Microelectrode Arrays Using a Formaldehyde-fixed Human Cadaver Model
Published on: November 19, 2017
Modified three-dimensional skull base model with artificial dura mater, cranial nerves, and venous sinuses for
Kentaro Mori1, Takuji Yamamoto, Kazutaka Oyama
1Department of Neurosurgery, Juntendo University Shizuoka Hospital, Izunokuni, Shizuoka, Japan. kmori@med-juntendo.jp
Abstract:
Experience with dissection of the cavernous sinus and the temporal bone is essential for training in skull base surgery, but the opportunities for cadaver dissection are very limited. A modification of a commercially available prototype three-dimensional (3D) skull base model, made by a selective laser sintering method and incorporating surface details and inner bony structures such as the inner ear structures and air cells, is proposed to include artificial dura mater, cranial nerves, venous sinuses, and the internal carotid artery for such surgical training. The transpetrosal approach and epidural cavernous sinus surgery (Dolenc's technique) were performed on this modified model using a high speed drill or ultrasonic bone curette under an operating microscope. The model could be dissected in almost the same way as a real cadaver. The modified 3D skull base model provides a good educational tool for training in skull base surgery.
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