Henceforth, students of the School of Medicine of the University for Development Studies will get to use new, groundbreaking technology to study human anatomy. This follows the delivery of an Anatomage table to the university. The Anatomage table, which cost eighty-five thousand dollars ($85,000), was co-funded by the University for Development Studies with sixty thousand dollars ($60,000), and twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) from money donated by the New York University through the AMPATH Ghana project, to the Office of the Dean of the School of Medicine, Professor Stephen Tabiri, to help develop the School.

Speaking after taking delivery of the Anatomage table, the Dean of the SoM, Professor Stephen Tabiri, together with the Director of procurement at UDS, Mr. Duke Fredua Agyeman and in the presence of other top officials and lecturers from the UDS School of Medicine, said he decided to use the Dean’s money which was a donation from the New York University (AMPATH) to develop the School by purchasing the Anatomage table, which will help in the teaching and learning of medical students and other health professionals. He said, when he made the proposal to purchase the Anatomage to the Management of the University for Development Studies, they bought into the idea and made a contribution of a whopping sixty thousand dollars ($60,000). He used the occasion to thank the Vice- Chancellor and University Senior Management for their thoughtfulness.

Students using the machine will soon be able to peel back and explore each layer of a digitally recreated body, starting with the skin and musculature, down to the circulatory and central nervous systems and everything in between.

Prof. Tabiri indicated that the manufacturers of the machine are appealing to well-meaning Ghanaian families, who are willing to help in the development of the study of medicine, to donate the body of a dead relative which will be used in the process of calibrating the machine to adapt to the anatomy of Africans. He said, the manufacturers have made arrangements to specially compensate any family that will be willing to make this sacrifice, adding that to ensure transparency during the process of calibration, the family will be flown to the USA to witness the process, after which the body will be cremated and the ashes given back to the family.

The New York University’s Academic Model Providing Access to Healthcare (AMPATH), of which the UDS School of Medicine is a partner, leverages the strengths of Ghana’s existing healthcare system and serves as a resource to Ghana’s health and education leaders as they strengthen the public sector health system in and around Tamale. AMPATH’s collaboration with UDS in particular, involves identifying priorities, improving access to comprehensive healthcare services, and advance health equity.

The Anatomage Table was developed to provide real-life dissection of a human cadaver without having a human cadaver. By using this table, medical students will be able to better understand anatomy which is crucial in healthcare.