A VR Environment for Human Anatomical Variation Education: Modeling, Visualization and Interaction

Trunk anatomy education is critical in the training of the surgeon. Most trunk anatomy education systems use a personal or synthetic anatomical model. It remains difficult to obtain appropriate population anatomy information and create individualized anatomy customization based on a quantity of diverse data. Furthermore, the naked-eye virtual reality modality provides advantages in immersive learning and meta-information transmission. In this study, we present a novel VR torso anatomy teaching environment with naked-eye three-dimensional visualization and free-hand interaction. This article allows us for comprehensive modeling, visualization, and interaction of torso anatomy for human anatomical variation education. In particular, we derive the genuine shape of Chinese male and female torso organs based on the statistical shape model generated from 129 healthy Chinese individuals. The following visual information is given with interaction: 1) Anatomy for human torso organs from CT imaging: geometric modeling, visualization, and interaction of male and female torso organs, including skin, muscle, torso skeleton, heart, lungs, liver, spleen, and kidneys; 2) morphological differences of trunk organs from meta-information: motion deformation modeling, visualization, and interaction of male and female deformable torso model; 3) instant personalized customization: real-time interaction and visualization for personalized customization with shape mode coefficients and soft body simulation.