The Greater Altoona Career and Technology Center has acquired an Anatomage Table that provides a life-sized interactive model of the human body to allow students to have human dissection experience. Courtesy photo

Students at the Greater Altoona Career and Technology Center students will have an opportunity to get hands-on human dissection experience without ever touching a body, thanks to a newly acquired Anatomage Table, according to Executive Director Nicole Zernick.

The Anatomage Table provides a life-sized, fully interactive model of the human body for students to practice a number of medical procedures on without needing a cadaver or other physical representation.

Anatomage Tables offer a number of male and female cadaver representations that accurately model the skeletal, nervous and vascular systems, among others, allowing students to “enhance the educational experience and facilitate a deeper understanding of medical subjects,” according to the Anatomage website.

According to Zernick, school administrators have wanted to acquire the device for students in the Health and Medical Science, Emergency Services and Dental Assistant programs for several years, finally securing the $90,000 table through the latest round of state Supplemental Equipment Grant funding.

GACTC staff are “really excited” to offer students a chance to learn on cutting-

edge equipment like the table, and hope it will elevate an already-successful Health and Medical Science curriculum, Zernick said.

The table is already installed in the GACTC building and will be ready for student use starting in the coming 2025-26 academic year.

“We are thrilled to bring this level of innovation to our medical programs,” Zernick said in a statement. “We are committed to provide cutting-edge resources that support hands-on, career-ready education for our students.”

The GACTC is seeking a qualified candidate to fill a full-time teaching position in the Health and Medical Science program, Zernick said.

Interested applicants with a current LPN, RN or bachelor’s degree in a health-related field may apply at www.gactc.edu/employment.

Mirror Staff Writer Conner Goetz is at 814-946-7535.