New Haven, CT (TP) - Today the Yale School of Medicine (YSM) announced a new partnership to aid in the training of neurosurgeons. YSM is partnering with FlisKits of Merrimack, New Hampshire, to provide training opportunities to Residents within their Pediatric Neurosurgery program.
"One of our greatest challenges is to teach our Residents to learn to work with the tiny structures within the pediatric brain. Jim Flis, in partnership with our staff, assembled a kit wherein our Residents can learn to work with fine materials, by practicing with styrene rod. Because the rod is smaller than any structure our Residents will encounter in a Pediatric brain, even during prenatal surgery, those that master these materials will be well trained for their ensuing careers," said Dr Pete Crossedeyes, Dean of YSM.
Residents were first provided the opportunity to work with the materials in June. While some have found the materials very strenuous, others proclaimed their newfound appreciate of the difficulties of operating in the pediatric brain.
"Having mastered the materials provided by Mr Flis, I have since found operating on a newborn brain to be effortless. The structures within the brain are 10 to 20 times the size of what Mr Flis' materials prepapred me for," said Dr Ima Rocketeer, a Resident from Minneapolis.
While the materials were originally designed for use in the YSM environment, Mr Flis happened to notice that the training materials looked a lot like a well-known NASA structure, so he decided to use them in his other line of business -- producing hobby rocket kits.
"I couldn't believe it when I realized how much the product looks like an escape tower from the Saturn rocket days! With that in mind, I felt compelled to build a kit around this. I just hope I don't drive too many within the rocketry community to drink," stated Mr Flis.
