The Visible Human Project male CAD based computational phantom and its use in bioelectromagnetic simulations.

Use of numerical simulation tools to provide qualitative estimates on electromagnetic safety, characterize antenna performance for WBAN applications and facilitate ground breaking research on diagnostic and therapeutic bioelectrical solutions has steadily grown over the past twenty years. However, the accuracy and applicability of such tools are directly proportional to the fidelity of the model used during the simulation. This paper describes the construction of a new CAD based male computational phantom, the Visible Human Project (VHP)-Male model, suitable for use in major commercial electromagnetics simulation packages.

Analysis on postmortem tissues at acupuncture points in the image datasets of Visible Human Project.

OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study is to search for distinct features in the color of human tissues under acupuncture points. METHODS: The data for computerized tomography and anatomical images of human males were downloaded with permission from the Visible Human Project initiated by the National Library of Medicine. The colors of digitalized anatomical cryosection images were represented by red-green-blue (RGB) values at every point of the body with 1-mm spatial precision. The computerized tomography data were used for positioning the acupuncture points in the three-dimensional frame by following the proportional method and the skeleton metric method. The anterior and posterior aspects of the trunk, which included the abdomen and the lower part of the thorax, were the regions of interest. RESULTS: The acupuncture points under consideration were aligned on the conception vessel, the kidney meridian, the stomach meridian for the front of the trunk, and the governor vessel and the bladder meridians for the back of the trunk. A total of 83 acupuncture points were located on the skin surface of the body in three-dimensional space. We obtained RGB color variations with depth under the skin of the body at fixed acupuncture points and analyzed them by the types of meridians. Color localization at the acupuncture points and directional patterns along the meridians were found at specific depths under the skin. CONCLUSIONS: This study is shown to be a unique method for understanding the anatomy of acupuncture points and meridians in three-dimension space, and it is suggested that color may be a useful characteristic when searching for a physical basis of the system.

Visualization of the left extraperitoneal space and spatial relationships to its related spaces by the visible human project.

BACKGROUND: The major hindrance to multidetector CT imaging of the left extraperitoneal space (LES), and the detailed spatial relationships to its related spaces, is that there is no obvious density difference between them. Traditional gross anatomy and thick-slice sectional anatomy imagery are also insufficient to show the anatomic features of this narrow space in three-dimensions (3D). To overcome these obstacles, we used a new method to visualize the anatomic features of the LES and its spatial associations with related spaces, in random sections and in 3D. METHODS: In conjunction with Mimics® and Amira® software, we used thin-slice cross-sectional images of the upper abdomen, retrieved from the Chinese and American Visible Human dataset and the Chinese Virtual Human dataset, to display anatomic features of the LES and spatial relationships of the LES to its related spaces, especially the gastric bare area. The anatomic location of the LES was presented on 3D sections reconstructed from CVH2 images and CT images. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: What calls for special attention of our results is the LES consists of the left sub-diaphragmatic fat space and gastric bare area. The appearance of the fat pad at the cardiac notch contributes to converting the shape of the anteroexternal surface of the LES from triangular to trapezoidal. Moreover, the LES is adjacent to the lesser omentum and the hepatic bare area in the anterointernal and right rear direction, respectively. CONCLUSION: The LES and its related spaces were imaged in 3D using visualization technique for the first time. This technique is a promising new method for exploring detailed communication relationships among other abdominal spaces, and will promote research on the dynamic extension of abdominal diseases, such as acute pancreatitis and intra-abdominal carcinomatosis.

The reconstruction and application of virtual Chinese human female.

The virtual human is an interactive computer model integrating anatomical, biophysical, physiological and biomechanical characteristics of human being. The virtual Chinese human female number 1 (VCH-F1) is a high-resolution dataset of a standard Chinese female. This paper covers our 5-year work with VCH-F1 dataset. We will introduce the reconstruction of VCH-F1 three-dimensional (3D) model and our efforts to put this dataset into practical task such as the construction of the health sciences educational facilities, the research about the mechanism of acupuncture and the realization of virtual image-guided neurosurgery. Our experience with this work demonstrates a broad scope and variety of applications of VCH-F1 dataset in medicine and biology. Further works still need to be done to make this dataset a routine clinical tool.

[Preliminary study on force feedback of acupuncture in virtual reality based on the visible human].

This paper discusses the application of virtual reality technology in the 3-D visible human body and acupuncture research. Based on the 3-D visible human fused with the localization information and hierarchy of acupoints, the paper analyzes the force against the needle and haptic rendering during the needle manipulation according to the physical properties of different tissues. A haptic model is constructed to demonstrate the force behaviors during acupuncture, and the force will be produced and passed to the manipulator by a force feedback device. It enriches the contents of 3-D visible human project, provides a dynamic simulation instrument for acupuncture teaching, and supplies a platform for acupuncture research.

Preliminary study on force feedback of acupuncture in virtual reality based on the visible human / 中国医疗器械杂志

This paper discusses the application of virtual reality technology in the 3-D visible human body and acupuncture research. Based on the 3-D visible human fused with the localization information and hierarchy of acupoints, the paper analyzes the force against the needle and haptic rendering during the needle manipulation according to the physical properties of different tissues. A haptic model is constructed to demonstrate the force behaviors during acupuncture, and the force will be produced and passed to the manipulator by a force feedback device. It enriches the contents of 3-D visible human project, provides a dynamic simulation instrument for acupuncture teaching, and supplies a platform for acupuncture research.