MEET one of the world's first digital human beings.
He - or indeed she - has no name or gender and does not run through a virtual city scape firing at other cyber sensations.
But with an anatomically accurate skeleton - and in the near future all the muscles and nerves which go with it - this virtual body will help the surgeons of the future to train and carry out operations as accurately as possible.
In the past anatomy professors taught doctors using three-dimensional anatomical models built from papier-mache. Now The Glasgow School of Art's digital design studio is working with the Royal College of Surgeon's of Edinburgh to complete a definitive three-dimensional virtual human which can be manipulated on line.
Mr Ian Ritchie, president of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, said other digital anatomical models had been developed, but continued: "Both the detail in this one is much more and there is also the potential of the 3D aspect of it. The important thing from my point of view as a surgeon is that it allows you to move around and take objects out and look at the relationship between one and the other, which is much harder to do on a piece of paper."
The model's head and neck are already being used in dental classes and were unveiled by former First Minister Alex Salmond in 2013. The first images showing the rest of the skeleton were released as the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh signed an agreement with the art college which will result in the final model being potentially available to more than 22,500 fellows and members across the world.
Described as "ultrarealistic" the model is being dubbed The Definitive Human and it is said it will lead to a step change in medical and surgical teaching, education and training because it is "uniquely" interactive in real time, allowing virtual dissection and reassembly. This may ultimately not only be used to teach medical students and junior doctors but also by surgeons using devices as well known as smart phones to prepare before carrying out operation.
Scans of dead bodies at Glasgow University and advice from experts including the Fulbright Chair –the Professor of Anatomy and Cell Biology at University of Illinois, Chicago - have been used to produce the model.
Dr Paul Chapman, acting director of the Digital Design Studio, said: “Our work on the Definitive Human begins with MRI and CT scans and Photogrammetry of cadavers. Then our expert 3D modellers, computer artists and 3D computer programmers create the real time interactive three dimensional model using the kind of techniques that are also used to create computer gaming environments.”
Professor Tom Inns, director of the Glasgow School of Art, said: “We are delighted that the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh is to partner our Digital Design Studio in this ground-breaking project. The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh strives to be at the forefront of surgical education and through this collaboration they will both contribute to and benefit from an innovation that will lead to a step change in anatomical education.”
The model is currently based on a healthy human but there is the potential in future to adjust it to show the affects of disease or injury.
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