TissueDB/Materials/Foam, rigid
Foam, rigid is the class of stiff foam materials — chiefly expanded polystyrene (EPS, "Styrofoam") — used in surgical simulation as firm tack-anchors, soft-tissue sleeves and lightweight bead fillers. It is distinct from Foam, soft, the flexible/compressible foams: rigid foam holds its shape and gives a firmer, stiffer feel. Sold as blocks and board, pre-formed tubing/sleeves, and loose microspheres (beads); cut and shaped with a craft knife or hot-wire cutter.
Tissues
| Tissue | Visual | Tactile | Simulator | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soft tissue (subcutaneous) | Cricothyrotomy Simulator (Aho) | As Styrofoam tubing/sleeve slid over the tracheal core — the soft-tissue layer between the skin and the airway.[1] | ||
| Small Intestine | Partial | No | Intra-abdominal Bleeding Simulator (Fernandes) | Small amounts of Styrofoam (EPS) microspheres fill a fine synthetic fabric-mesh form to keep it soft and easy to handle; fixed at the ends only, without mesentery; a different colour from the large bowel.[2] |
| Large Bowel | Partial | No | Intra-abdominal Bleeding Simulator (Fernandes) | Same construction — Styrofoam (EPS) microsphere fill in a fine fabric-mesh form; a different colour from the small intestine.[2] |
| Pubic bone and Cooper's ligament | Laparoscopic Inguinal Hernia Repair Simulator (Kurashima) | A rigid styrene-foam piece shaped to the pelvic landmark, firmer than the surrounding soft-foam abdominal-wall layers, so the trainee finds the pubic bone and Cooper's ligament by feel when placing tacks.[3] |
References
[edit source]- ↑ Aho JM, Thiels CA, AlJamal YN, Ruparel RK, Rowse PG, Heller SF, Farley DR. Every surgical resident should know how to perform a cricothyrotomy: an inexpensive cricothyrotomy task trainer for teaching and assessing surgical trainees. J Surg Educ. 2015;72(4):658–661. DOI: 10.1016/j.jsurg.2014.12.012. PMID: 25703738.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Fernandes CO, Rodrigues LR, Silva do Amaral MLBS, de Morais Rodrigues SJ, Marton-Filho MA. Low-cost simulator for intra-abdominal bleeding. Rev Col Bras Cir 2023;50:e20233512. DOI: 10.1590/0100-6991e-20233512-en. PMID: 37971114. PMC: PMC10618030.
- ↑ Kurashima Y, Feldman LS, Al-Sabah S, Kaneva PA, Fried GM, Vassiliou MC. A novel low-cost simulator for laparoscopic inguinal hernia repair. Surg Innov. 2011;18(2):171–175. DOI: 10.1177/1553350610395949. PMID: 21307013.
Overview
[edit source]Low-cost and widely available from craft, hardware and packaging suppliers as polystyrene blocks, board, protective packing and loose beads. The beads are used loose as a lightweight filler. Also used as a non-tissue stabilisation base for bench work — a cut block, tray or bowl holding a specimen steady during microsurgery, as in the Grapefruit dACA Bypass Simulator, which lists repurposed Styrofoam alongside a tray, a bowl or a roll of duct tape as equivalent supports (Cikla et al. 2020, World Neurosurgery 138:39–51; DOI 10.1016/j.wneu.2020.02.107, PMID 32109640).
Synonyms
[edit source]Common: rigid foam, Styrofoam, expanded polystyrene, EPS, EPS foam, polystyrene foam, polystyrene board, styrene foam; microspheres, foam beads. Trade: Styropor (DE). Regional: espuma de poliestireno (ES), polystyrène expansé (FR), polistirolo espanso (IT), piepschuim (NL).
Clinical Context for Simulation
[edit source]Processing & Preparation
[edit source]Safety Considerations
[edit source]Related Materials
[edit source]| Authors | Arturopelayo |
|---|---|
| License | CC-BY-SA-4.0 |
| Cite as | Arturopelayo (2026). "TissueDB/Materials/Foam, rigid". Appropedia. Retrieved July 23, 2026. |