3D-printed sea lion pelvis offers a new marine mammal training tool: full analysis

A UNLV-led team has developed a 3D-printed synthetic California sea lion pelvis that could give marine mammal veterinarians a more realistic way to train for one of the species’ routine but technically demanding procedures: blood collection. The model, described in Scientific Reports on January 21, 2026, uses CT-derived DICOM imaging to recreate the pelvic region’s bone and soft tissue layers, with the goal of improving hands-on training without relying on live animals or cadavers. (nature.com)

The project lands against a backdrop of repeated domoic acid-related sea lion strandings on the California coast. NOAA documented major harmful algal bloom impacts in 2024 and again in early 2025, when Southern California stranding partners reported upwards of 100 calls a day for affected sea lions and dolphins. Those blooms, driven by toxin-producing Pseudo-nitzschia, have pushed rehabilitation teams into rapid triage, intensive fluid therapy, anti-seizure treatment, and difficult decisions about which animals are most likely to survive. (fisheries.noaa.gov)

In the paper, the researchers describe a four-layer phantom that includes a compliant skin shell, a blubber layer, muscle, and a printed skeletal structure. The imaging data came from CT and MRI scans provided by the U.S. Navy Marine Mammal Program, and the fabrication workflow combined stereolithography, fused deposition modeling, and gel casting. The authors said the model was specifically optimized for the caudal gluteal blood collection site, where clinicians often rely on palpating bony landmarks to guide needle placement. They reported an approximate fabrication time of three days and framed the workflow as scalable for other sizes, species, and future procedural models. (nature.com)

UNLV’s accompanying announcement cast the work as part of a broader soft robotics and biomaterials effort, with lead author Daniel Fisher saying the team is trying to build a foundation for “novel implants or procedures” that could benefit both animals and people. Senior author Kwang J. Kim said the sea lion project could be a starting point for wider applications of soft robotics research. The paper itself points in the same direction, outlining planned work on artificial blood viscosity testing, smart-material sensing, and real-time trainee feedback. (unlv.edu)

That broader framing matters because California sea lions are both frequent rehabilitation patients and useful sentinels of ocean health. The study notes that free-ranging sea lions strand for illness, trauma, cancer, and environmental toxin exposure, including domoic acid poisoning. In practice, blood sampling is central to monitoring systemic health and guiding treatment, but training opportunities can be limited, especially for non-domestic species with anatomy that most small animal or even exotics clinicians won’t routinely encounter. NOAA also notes that authorized marine mammal rehabilitation is concentrated in specialized facilities, which raises the value of durable, repeatable training tools that can standardize technique across institutions. (nature.com)

For veterinary professionals, the significance is less about the novelty of 3D printing itself and more about operational readiness. A realistic phantom could reduce dependence on opportunistic training with live patients, lower stress on compromised animals, and help teams prepare for surge events when large numbers of sea lions arrive in a short window. That may be especially relevant after the severe 2025 bloom, which outside responders and rehabilitation groups described as one of the worst recent domoic acid events in Southern California. Inference: if annual or near-annual bloom pressure continues, marine mammal medicine may increasingly need simulation-based training tools similar to those already common in human medicine. (fisheries.noaa.gov)

What comes next will be worth watching on two fronts. First, the technology itself may expand from blood-collection practice into more advanced procedural rehearsal, embedded feedback, and potentially implant or device development. Second, the clinical demand side is unlikely to ease quickly: NOAA and regional monitoring groups have linked recent stranding waves to recurring harmful algal blooms, suggesting that rehabilitation systems will keep looking for ways to train faster, scale care, and preserve scarce wildlife veterinary expertise. (nature.com)