Medical students perform "cyber surgery" with 3D holographic images

A medical education software company has partnered with a 3D technology provider to create 3D images that give medical students the virtual sense of operating on a patient.

Rich Lineback, president of Cyber-Anatomy, told the Press Citizen that the company will use zSpace technology to produce interactive 3D models of human anatomy diagrams contained in Cyber-Anatomy software.These models will initially be provided to medical students at the Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine in New York City.

The idea came to life when Dr. David Lenihan, Dean of Preclinical Medicine and associate professor of neuro-anatomy and neuroscience at Touro, was watching a Discovery Channel documentary about torture and saw a 3D display being used to analyze an injury. Intrigued by the idea, he researched medical anatomy program developers and ended up contacting Cyber-Anatomy and zSpace.

A full 3D display could improve medical students’ training, he told the Press Citizen.

“Cadavers are not like how the human anatomy really is in the body — they [the organs] shift and settle,” he said. “I can actually show students a much better representation of where the structures are [using a holographic image].”

Lenihan also said that this technology could revolutionize how anatomy is taught, and that it is an opportunity to advance medical education to help improve healthcare.

Cyber-Anatomy and zSpace are aiming for a July 2014 release to integrate the technology into Touro’s Fall 2014 curriculum.

Also check out:
3D imaging machine helps physicians identify cancer earlier, more frequently

Share your vision-related news by contacting James Carroll, Senior Web Editor, Vision Systems Design