Case Study: Florida Children’s Hospital achieves high-fidelity pediatric surgical simulation with Stratasys Digital Anatomy 3D printing

How a Florida children's hospital is forging a path to elevating the realism of medical simulation

Florida Children’s Hospital faced the challenge of training clinicians for highly complex, often unique pediatric cases when off‑the‑shelf simulators lacked realistic pediatric anatomy and tactile properties. To close that gap the hospital acquired a Stratasys J750 Digital Anatomy 3D printer and associated Digital Anatomy software to create patient‑specific models that support research, education, and safer point‑of‑care preparation.

Using Stratasys technology and materials (BoneMatrix, GelMatrix and TissueMatrix), the team produced anatomically and biomechanically realistic bone and soft‑tissue models—over 100 presets—allowing physicians to practice cutting and drilling with feedback that “felt” like real bone. Clinicians reported markedly improved realism and training value, enabling rehearsal for delicate procedures (including spinal fusion and surgeries on very small infants), faster adoption across teams, and projected reductions in surgical time, anesthesia exposure, morbidity/mortality and overall training ROI.

Florida Children’s Hospital