Prior to clinical use of any medical device, sufficient testing must be performed to ensure that the device will perform as designed under intended conditions.  For this reason, accurate anatomical models are an invaluable tool in the development and testing process .  Duke Empirical employs rapid prototyping, molding, and polymer technologies to produce models of human anatomy.  These models may be based upon true human anatomy (for example from patient CT scan data) or shapes which are custom designed to simulate clinical use.