PHANTOM LAB
Surgical Realism.
Repeated Practice.
Accessible Excellence.
The CIRE Phantom Lab brings the complexity of neurosurgery into a realistic, reusable, and affordable training environment. By combining precise anatomy, lifelike tissue behaviour, and the practical demands of operative procedures, our models create opportunities to develop surgical skills through purposeful, repeated practice.
The models are based on the concepts and methodology introduced by Dr. Amir Amini, a board-certified neurosurgeon whose research places the surgeon’s perspective at its centre. His approach focuses on the learning curve, measurable technical progress, and a fundamental goal: preparing surgeons to transfer the skills acquired through simulation to the operating room.
Every aspect of model development serves this purpose—from how tissues respond to dissection and how anatomical structures are exposed to how instruments move within narrow surgical corridors. The aim is to reproduce the experience of operating, allowing trainees to practise the movements, judgement, and precision that demanding neurosurgical procedures require.
Reusability makes this experience sustainable. Durable components and low-cost replaceable tissues enable repeated training without replacing the entire simulator after each session. Learners can revisit difficult steps, explore alternative techniques, and progressively refine their skills, while institutions can integrate hands-on simulation into routine teaching at an affordable cost.
Scientific evaluation is integral to our work. Our research combines assessments of anatomical and haptic fidelity with objective measures of surgical performance in the simulated environment. This allows us to examine learning curves, assess progress, and refine the models according to their educational value. Transferability to clinical practice remains a central research priority.
Beyond foundational training, these platforms support advanced microsurgical practice, the exploration of operative strategies, and the comparison of different approaches to the same pathology. They provide a foundation for operative planning and for investigating complex neurosurgical questions, serving learners from medical students and residents to experienced surgeons.
The models are also protected by patents, with the aim of safeguarding their continued academic development and supporting broad accessibility. This protection is intended to sustain ongoing research and refinement while preserving the commitment to affordable surgical education.
Our guiding principle is simple: access to meaningful surgical practice should not depend on institutional resources. Through realism, reusability, affordability, and scientific evaluation, CIRE is working to make advanced simulation an integral part of neurosurgical education worldwide.
CIRE VENTRICULOSTOMY MODEL
Realistic training. Remarkably low cost.
Simulating the brain means recreating the behaviour of living tissue. For surgical training, anatomical accuracy must be matched by realistic mechanical properties: how tissue deforms, how it responds to instruments, and the resistance a surgeon feels during a procedure. These details shape the learning experience. Unrealistic feedback can reinforce habits that may not translate safely to the operating room.
Working with biomedical engineers, we used rheological testing to investigate the materials best suited to reproducing these characteristics. Our analyses revealed substantial mechanical differences between cadaveric brain tissue and the gelatin formulations that neurosurgeons judged most representative of living brain tissue. These findings highlight the limitations of cadaveric tissue as a reference for surgical simulation, potentially reflecting the effects of preservation and the prolonged absence of cerebral perfusion.
Using readily available, inexpensive materials, we developed a durable, portable, and reusable EVD phantom that reproduces essential tactile and visual feedback. Trainees can experience the characteristic “pop” when entering the ventricle and observe fluid backflow to confirm ventricular access—subtle but crucial elements of the procedure.
The phantom can be refrigerated for up to seven days while retaining its anatomical and haptic properties, making repeated practice practical and affordable.
The material cost to reproduce it? Just $1.12, excluding the 3D printer.
Meaningful surgical realism should be within everyone’s reach.
realistic skull model – identify anatomical structures
haptic feedback – drilling the bone
visual feedback – liquid back flow in drain
CIRE CLIPPING MODEL
Building on the experience and success of our EVD simulator, we have developed a novel physical simulator for intracranial aneurysm clipping, now in its final testing phase. It advances our mission to give medical students and neurosurgical trainees worldwide access to realistic, affordable opportunities to develop their operative skills in a controlled environment.
At its core is a complete anatomical segmentation and reconstruction of the Sylvian fissure, the first of its kind, enabling both narrow and wide configurations to reflect anatomical variability. The model supports microsurgical fissure dissection and clipping of aneurysms involving the middle and anterior cerebral arteries, allowing trainees to practise the critical steps of surgical exposure, vascular dissection, and clip placement within a single, anatomically detailed platform.
CIRE 2.0
Our most advanced model brings skull base surgery, aneurysm clipping, and white matter dissection together in a single, versatile simulation platform. It recreates the critical stages of complex neurosurgical procedures—from surgical exposure and approach development to delicate microsurgical dissection—allowing surgeons to practise complete operative workflows within an anatomically realistic environment.
Its versatility enables trainees to explore and compare multiple surgical approaches to the same pathology or perform different procedures within a single training session. Brainstem tumour resection and basilar tip aneurysm clipping, for example, can be practised on the same platform, offering a broad range of technical challenges and opportunities to develop surgical judgement.
Successfully integrated into our CIRE courses, the model has undergone validation using both objective performance measures and subjective assessments. These evaluations have demonstrated its effectiveness in developing foundational and advanced microneurosurgical skills in the simulated environment, reinforcing its value as a platform for structured, progressive surgical training.
CONTACT
Department of Neurosurgery
Otto-von-Guericke University
Leipziger Str. 44, Haus 65
39120 Magdeburg,
Saxony-Anhalt, Germany