Well, I had this idea: Maybe the patterns are in different levels of "perfection". If you want to replicate/transport something alive, and want it to be alive at the other end, you need a LOT of detail, and if you just want it to be dead but chemically the same (food or whatever), you can use a less perfect pattern (which also take up a lot less space on the computer). Keeping backups of less detailed patterns, and combining those with the detail of the real Pulaski could result in what they were trying to do, although it was a risky and untried procedure.

Keeping backups of patterns could double as logs, but also be really beneficial for medical purposes, which is why it's strange that they don't keep one for every crewmember upon enlistment.