UW Medicine surgeons prominent in science exhibit

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UW Medicine surgeons prominent in science exhibit

To open June 10 in Seattle; displays to include simulated human body parts, surgical skill-building, instruments
Brian Donohue

A new exhibit at the Pacific Science Center in Seattle will showcase UW Medicine surgeons and surgical training techniques at the University of Washington School of Medicine.

The exhibition, "Surgery + Innovation = A Better Way to Operate," explores innovations that enable surgical teams to perform procedures with less trauma to patients. The exhibit runs June 10 through Dec. 3, 2017.


Heather Evans
Dr. Heather Evans, a UW associate professor of surgery, led development of the mPOWEr app.
picture of Dr. Heather Evans

Museum patrons will be able to explore advances in surgical training and methods and patient care that have improved recoveries, and which may herald a future in which some conditions that once required surgery no longer do.

"Part of what we do every day as surgeons is educate our patients about surgery. To get the chance to reach out to the public to explain what we do, in and out of the operating room, is a wonderful opportunity," said UW Medicine surgeon Heather Evans. "Maybe the exhibit will pique someone’s interest enough to make them consider a career in medicine."

Exhibit features include:

  • Realistic simulations of human body parts that help surgeons develop critical skills.
  • Opportunity to test manual dexterity with pincer-like instruments like those used in minimally invasive surgeries. 
  • Visualizations of smart-phone technologies that help patients to be in the best possible health before surgery and to monitor wound healing after surgery. (Evans helped to develop a post-op wound-monitoring app for smartphones.)
  • Displays of surgical instruments.
  • Opportunity to activate a step-by-step simulation of a procedure that fixes a damaged blood vessel by threading tools through the body instead of creating an incision. 

The exhibit will be showcased in the Wellbody Academy, part of a changing exhibit space that sheds light on the work of local scientists through digital media, graphics, objects, interactive displays, and live programs. Exhibits change twice a year. Entry is included with Pacific Science Center admission. Find more details here.