Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Center of Excellence in Sports Medicine Department of Orthopaedics Surgical Skills Lab

Partially funded by a $5.2 million grant from the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation, lab is dedicated to the training of medical students, orthopaedic residents, and sports medicine fellows in the latest arthroscopic techniques. 

Located in the Surgical Simulation Lab of UB RISE at the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, our laboratory was designed to replicate the arthroscopic operating room using realistic synthetic joint models and cadaveric specimens and consists of two vertical towers containing all of the components needed for arthroscopy.

Our orthopedic residents spend time in the lab with tutoring from our faculty in arthroscopic surgery, fracture work, spine surgery and joint replacement surgery.

Our school’s Gross Anatomy Lab, which has a robust anatomical gifts program, supplies specimens for this lab.

Our virtual reality arthroscopy simulators bring to life the subtle differences of probing disparate tissues of the joints.

The state-of-the-art VirtaMed simulator uses a unique cryosectioning technique giving 0.1 mm resolution and employs sophisticated finite element modeling techniques to produce accurate real‐time deformations in response to motion and to instrument manipulation.

Desktop phantom devices display the full range of interaction forces associated with the procedures. Training is delivered through movies, text and images.

The simulator enables you to use the same equipment you’d find in the operating room. It lets you practice at your own pace and gives you opportunities to perfect your skills outside the pressures and time constraints of the operating room.

Our simulator measures performance, which gives you valuable insight into your progress and helps you improve your skills.

Our arthroscopy laboratory will help you:

• learn all relevant superficial and arthroscopic anatomy of the major joints of the body
• practice the navigational skills of arthroscopy, such as orientation, localization, triangulation and quadrangulation
• practice diagnostic arthroscopy of all of the major joints
• gain experience with basic and advanced arthroscopic procedures

This virtual reality knee and shoulder arthroscopic simulator is part of our core curriculum for teaching residents and fellows. We are leaders in using this arthroscopy simulator in training. We continue to evaluate new technologies and simulation platforms to ensure that we remain at the forefront of virtual instruction.

• Touch of Life Technologies virtual knee and shoulder arthroscopy simulator
• VirtaMed virtual knee, shoulder, hip and ankle simulator
  
• arthroscopy tower with:
  • arthroscopes
  • high flow sheath systems
  • HD video monitors
  • camera heads
  • camera control units
  • camera light sources
  • mechanical shaver control units
  • shaver hand pieces
  • shaver footswitches
  • fluid management systems
• arthroscopy hand instruments and tray
• knot tying stations, knee and shoulder phantoms
• FAST workstations
  
• power hand tools including:
  • drills
  • sagittal saw

Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
955 Main Street, Suite 7130
Buffalo, NY 14203