Behind-the-Scenes at Simulare Medical, a Division of Smile Train

In the late 2010s, Dr. Dale Podolsky, a surgeon at SickKids Hospital in Toronto and an Associate Scientist at the SickKids Research Institute, was developing a robotic tool that could assist with cleft surgeries. In need of a safe way to test his device, he worked with his colleagues Drs. Karen Wong, James Drake, Christopher Forrest, and David Fisher to develop a lifelike, 3D-printed simulation of a child’s face with a cleft.

The team soon recognized that the simulator was an innovation no less bold than the robot itself, with the potential to become an invaluable training aid for human surgeons no less than machines.

Dr. Podolsky agreed. The team refined it more, and when they were satisfied they had a product that was maximally accurate and maximally useful, Dr. Podolsky founded Simulare Medical to produce and sell it to cleft teams around the world.

The tiny company soon caught the attention of Smile Train. As an organization that runs on a unique, sustainable model of empowering local healthcare workers around the world to provide world-class cleft care that’s always there for their neighbors in need, we felt their passions perfectly matched ours.

So in November 2020, we took on their operations, creating Simulare Medical, a Division of Smile Train.

The move has been a win-win for Simulare Medical and for Smile Train’s partner surgeons. Supercharged with Smile Train’s resources, Simulare Medical now produces upwards of 2,000 high-fidelity cleft surgical simulators each year.

And supercharged with Smile Train’s reach, those simulators are now training cleft surgeons in traditionally marginalized areas who would never have had access to them otherwise.

Combining our forces has also helped us to supercharge innovation. We’ve already developed two new, first-of-their-kind simulators. Looking beyond plastic, we’re also hard at work developing virtual reality simulators that will bring hands-on cleft surgical training to the Metaverse, making it available to all people at all times.

But the biggest winner is Smile Train’s patients, as it is one of the many innovations Smile Train is using to ensure that, no matter where they live, they will always receive the safest, highest-quality cleft care from local experts now and for generations to come.

“The team at Simulare Medical is so passionate about what they do each and every day. They’re constantly thinking about the ultimate end beneficiary. Because at the end of this, there’s a child who has a cleft and needs treatment to go on and live their happiest and healthiest life.”

– Erin Stieber, Chief Programs Strategy Officer, Smile Train