Applications of graphics in
medicine training
Clara Bayarri
Table of contents
The area ................................................................................................... 2 Examples ................................................................................................. 2 How are these applications used? ............................................................ 3 Visual and interaction requirements ......................................................... 4 Research groups and organizations involved ............................................ 4 Bibliography ............................................................................................. 5 The area
Computer graphics have played a significant role in the advance of
medicine. Since the mid 1970's, when the first three-dimensional
visualizations of Computed Tomography 1 were reported, computer
graphics have evolved to aid the medical profession in various aspects
such as diagnosis, procedures training, pre-operative planning and
telemedicine (McCloy & Stone, 2001).
The use of computer graphics for medical diagnosis has provided an
extraordinary ability to visualize, measure and evaluate structures in a
non-intrusive manner.
One of the most important areas in medicine where computer graphics
have had a positive impact is training. Computer graphics provide new
methods for learning, as professionals can test their skills in simulators
and evaluate their performance in a virtual environment. Whereas
traditional training in the medical area involved a great number of
dissections in order to correctly learn about the human anatomy,
computer graphics have provided 3D models that can be easily explored
and interacted with. This allows the professional not only to use a 3D
model as a biography atlas but also interact with it to perform surgery
rehearsals (Vidal, et al., 2006).
In the last few years, the area of medical simulators has grown to be an
important part of medical training. With the use of simulators,
professionals can learn how to proceed with delicate operations without
endangering human subjects. This is only possible by using highresolution 3D graphic representations of parts of the human body
alongside mechanical instruments that convey the interaction between
the user and the simulator system.
Examples
The human body has been modelled in high detail to offer 3D interactive
graphical representations. A clear example can be found in projects
deriving from the Visible Human Project (U.S. National Library of
Medicine, 2012). This project took sliced pictures of both male and
female cadavers in order to document the human body.
1
Computed Tomography (CT) is a powerful non-destructive evaluation technique for
producing 2-D and 3-D cross-sectional images of an object from flat X-ray images. (NDT
Resource Center, 2001)
From this data, several projects were
born, such as Touch of Life
Technologies' VH Dissector (Touch of
Life Technologies, Inc., 2007). VH
Dissector offers an interactive version
of the bodies scanned by the Visible
Human Project, and allow the user to
not only explore the precisely labelled
parts of the body, but also offers 3D
instructions.
Figure 1: VH Dissector
At a less professional level, the project Zygote Body (formerly known as
Google Body) provides an openly available online 3D model of the human
body that can be easily explored, tagged and searched (Zygote Media
Group, Inc, 2012).
Another important aspect of
education-related
medical
graphics applications is the
creation of simulators. Several
companies have developed
highly
advanced
simulator
systems for medical training. A
good example can be found
within the products of the
company Voxel-Man (VoxelMan, 2009).
Voxel-Man
products
include
several
surgery simulators that allow
Figure 2: Voxel-Man's Tempo simulator
the
user
to
interactively
practice delicate procedures
such as brain surgery without the need of real patients or cadavers.
Furthermore, the company has developed dental procedure simulators for
dental professionals.
How are these applications used?
Nowadays, graphic-intense applications are used extensively in medical
training. From the early anatomy or biology classes in schools, where
children are starting to use computers to interact and discover the human
body, to advanced professional-oriented courses, 3D graphic applications
are the key to medical skill building.
Simulation systems such as the ones mentioned above have
revolutionized medical training, becoming a key part or, for example,
dental surgery skill training or brain surgery exploration.
Visual and interaction requirements
Most of the examples provided include static 3D models that do not
require real-time effort as model, textures and layers are pre-calculated
and simply processed for viewing from one angle or another.
Nevertheless, surgery simulation systems may also require complex
simulation and real-time modelling to represent reactions to the user's
moves such as a blood stream or the movement of flesh. These elements
add a high complexity to the visualization
Research groups and organizations involved
There are many groups and organizations involved in graphics for medical
training.
At a local level, we can find several projects within the moving group at
UPC, such as the training system developed specifically for Condyle
fractures (Modeling,Visualization, Interaction and Virtual Reality Research
Group, UPC).
At an Enterprise level, we can find several companies dedicated to
develop tools such as simulators and interactive applications for medical
professional training. Some clear examples can be taken from the
products mentioned before, such as Voxel-Man or Touch of Life
Technologies, Inc.
Similarly, some organizations provide not only development but also
training in the field, such as the Harvard Center for Medical Simulation
(Harvard Center for Medical Simulation, 2009).
As we have also previously seen, other organizations take part in this
area, such as the U.S. National Library of Medicine, who has undertaken
the Visible Human Project.
Bibliography
Harvard Center for Medical Simulation. (2009). Retrieved June 2012 from
The Center for Medical Simulation: http://www.harvardmedsim.org/
McCloy, R., & Stone, R. (2001). Virtual reality in surgery. BMJ , 323, 912915.
Modeling,Visualization, Interaction and Virtual Reality Research Group,
UPC. (n.d.). Medicina i Realitat Virtual. Retrieved June 2012 from
Modeling,Visualization, Interaction and Virtual Reality Research Group:
http://moving.lsi.upc.edu/ProjectesMedicina/Catala.html
NDT Resource Center. (2001). Computed Tomography. Retrieved June
2012
from
NDT
Resource
Center:
http://www.ndted.org/EducationResources/CommunityCollege/Radiography/AdvancedTe
chniques/computedtomography.htm
Touch of Life Technologies, Inc. (2007). VH Dissector. Retrieved June
2012
from
Touch
of
Life
Technologies:
http://www.toltech.net/products/vh_dissector/index.htm
U.S. National Library of Medicine. (2012, April 6). The Visible Human
Project®. Retrieved June 2012 from U.S. National Library of Medicine:
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/research/visible/
Vidal, F., Bello, F., Brodlie, K., John, N., Gould, D., Phillips, R., et al.
(2006). Principles and Applications of Computer Graphics in Medicine.
COMPUTER GRAPHICS forum , 25 (1), 113-137.
Voxel-Man. (2009). Retrieved
http://www.voxel-man.de/
June
2012
from
VOXEL-MAN:
Zygote Media Group, Inc. (2012). Retrieved June 2012 from Zygote
Body: http://zygotebody.com/