Have you ever wondered how surgeons learn to operate on real patients? Or, how medical devices-like replacement heart valves-are tested before being approved for use in humans?

Meet Richard Bianco, the director of UMN’s Experiment Surgical Services (ESS).

In this episode, he speaks about giving early-career academic surgeons the opportunity to refine their skills, the complex process of medical device qualification, and important ethical implications of using animal models in medical research.