The 4D human atlas known as CAVEman, unveiled this week, will allow virtual testing of drugs and surgical techniques
Credit: AFP
OTTAWA: The world's first virtual computer model of a human body has been created, translating a litany of complex medical and genomic data into 4D images to test drugs and surgical techniques.
The virtual man has his skin and skeleton removed to display every vein, artery and organ, and consists of more than 3,000 body parts projected from the walls and floor.
Virtually perfect
Unveiled at the University of Calgary in western Canada this week, CAVEman, as he is known, is anatomically perfect. He is ready to be manipulated at the click of a computer button and may hold the key to understanding complex diseases and human development, according to his creators.
"The image almost comes alive," said Andrei Turinsky, a researcher at the University of Calgary's department of biochemistry and molecular biology. "It allows us for the first time to model the entire human body including anatomy, chemistry and tissue types."
Using Java 3-D technology, a commonly used Web-based computer programming language, images that can be detected with the use of special glasses allow doctors to pinpoint DNA defects and manipulate genes.
This complete human atlas in four dimensions - length, width, height and time - also allows researchers to observe the evolution of illnesses and to view the body's reaction to digital chemicals.
"A doctor or patient could be shown what is going on inside a body. For people not versed in medical terminology or medical data analysis, it helps them to see it visually," said Turinsky. "It's much better than a biology textbook."
"Initially, we would feed a person's medical data into the computer to show them what is happening in their body. Eventually, we hope to use it to predict what would happen if a patient didn't pursue a treatment or if certain genes act up," he said.
Digital drug testing
The computer program could also tell scientists whether a drug has potential before test are conducted on living cells – avoiding experiments on animals, people or cadavers before clinical trials begin. It could also be used to help doctors plan surgery or develop new surgical techniques.
The 4D human atlas is built upon data from basic anatomy textbooks. Fundamental body systems and organs were rendered into animated drawings by a graphic artist, and converted into Java 3-D images to bring them to life.
A team of computer scientists, biologists and mathematicians worked on the project for six years. Initially, they aimed to create computer models that could be used to train massage therapists, but researchers quickly realised the broader potential of the project. Turinsky said he hopes to see the model in use within the next two years.
Surgery simulators
CAVEman adds to an ever-increasing list of virtual reality (VR) systems used widely in medical training, particularly in surgery simulators. In 1997 researchers from CSIRO Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) Centre, a specialist division of Australia's national science Agency, the CSIRO, in association with ACSys – the Advanced Computational Systems Cooperative Research Centre – developed the Haptic Workbench, a general purpose system which creates a "hands-in virtual environment".
In this system, the user, wearing 3D glasses, manipulates a virtual tool (such as a scalpel) at the end of a robotic arm, and actually feels resistance as the software 'cuts' through a simulated object. The CSIRO Haptic Workbench has now been passed on to Australian medical technology company Medic Vision.
Many other VR applications, like the MIST-VR (Minimally Invasive Surgical Trainer – Virtual Reality) for laparoscopic training, are in use worldwide. But as Matthew Hutchins, a Senior Research Scientist in Visualisation and Virtual Environments at the CSIRO ICT Centre explains, "These systems are not hand-immersive" – meaning students have minimal tactile feedback.
The University of Melbourne in Australia is planning to use the Haptic Workbench to train surgeons. “In the past, students learned temporal bone drilling by going to a dark, dingy laboratory, drilling a piece of bone and sending it back,” said Stephen O’Leary, a consultant to Medic Vision and Associate Professor with the University’s Department of Otolaryngology. In contrast, the Haptic Workbench “gives a sense of reality to the situation ... it becomes like a computer game ... it’s fun.”
Additional reporting by Janette Ellis
