Virtual human puts doctors inside their patients
2007-05-23

Category Video Games Nations Canada City Calgary States Alberta Category Diabetes Alzheimer's Disease

Canadian researchers say they have developed the most detailed model of a human yet, a movable "4D" image that doctors can use to plan complex surgery or show patients what ailments look like inside their bodies.

Called CAVEman, the larger-than-life computer image encompasses more than 3,000 distinct body parts, all viewed in a booth that gives the image height, width and depth, the researchers said on Wednesday.

CAVEman also plots the passage of time -- the fourth "D."

Scientists can layer on the unique visuals of patients, such as magnetic resonance images, CAT scans and X-Rays, giving physicians high-resolution views of the inner workings of the body while it appears to float within arm's reach.

It will help researchers study the genetics of diseases such as cancer, diabetes, muscular sclerosis and Alzheimer's, said officials at the University of Calgary Faculty of Medicine, which has worked on the system for six years.

"Today, this kind of a model is unique in the world. It's the only one that is complete," said Christoph Sensen, director of the medical school's Sun Center of Excellence for Visual Genomics.

"We have components of models. We could make this thing with 50 different brains because everybody makes their own brain model. What we didn't have was a whole, complete body."

CAVEman is an offshoot of a 3D virtual reality "Cave," a C$6 million ($5.5 million) lab the Sun Center opened in 2002 in conjunction with Sun Microsystems Inc.

The model started partly due to a desire among massage therapy teachers at a company in the central Alberta city of Red Deer for a more intricate picture of muscles and bones.

It cost somewhere between C$500,000 and C$2 million. "It's very hard to guess, because it has taken many years, especially in Red Deer, with at least one or two artists constantly employed," Sensen said.

CAVEman, seen through 3D glasses in a booth, appears to stand in front of the viewer. As in a video game, the controller can manipulate it and focus on body parts -- skin, bones, muscles, organs and veins.

"We say that killing monsters is fun, but curing cancer is more important," Andrei Turinsky, a mathematician and computer scientist, said as he moved the model around using a joystick.

The closer the image gets, the further into the body the viewer appears to travel. It is difficult to resist trying to touch it.

The image can also be loaded on to regular computers, to be viewed off site.

The medical community will benefit by being able to merge patients' diagnostic results -- such as computerized internal images and blood tests -- in one place, allowing specialists to work together more closely, Sensen said.

In addition, surgeons can use it instead of cadavers as teaching tool, and to plan surgeries before conducting them.

Patients will also gain much more understanding about their own conditions, he said.

"We want to do this so any patient can walk up to a machine with a surgeon in tow who says, 'This is what it looked like six weeks ago and this is what it looked like today. You better get surgery now'."

Next steps include developing versions to sell to hospitals around the world, and adding a touch element to the image.

(Additional reporting by Caroline Hedin)

($1=$1.09 Canadian)