Hurray! We now have an official AnaTOM website with free high resolution renders for your viewing pleasure:

www.anatomproject.com

Amazing! Argosy Publishing has released a beta version of Visible Body, an interactive human anatomy software application in full 3D. It used to be free but unfortunately that changed recently! Check it out:

http://www.visiblebody.com/start

This is really really exciting to see. I'm also going to see if I can reach out to them and partner up in their efforts.

Attempting to rig the human figure such that the deformation of the skin behaved in a realistic way was far more challenging than I had expected. It led to many cool learnings and discoveries about rigging which I will share soon in this thread. In the meantime I will be posting renderings for the different areas I complete as I go. Take a look and let me know what you think:







Download high quality video here (Torso Rotate Z)






Download high quality video here (Torso Rotate X)





Download high quality video here (Torso Rotate Y)



Download high quality video here (Forearm Anterior)

I've come across various companies that are trying to do similar things. I've tried contacting each of them to see if they would be interested in partnering up with me but they either didn't respond or declined my offer:

3D Application by Cloud Stars
3D Human Anatomy Application

Nucleus anatomy visualization company
Nucleus Website

2D Application by Robin Chauhan
Ultrasound Explorer

And now a new and exciting develpoment from Stanford University and Google... I've tried contacting them too. We'll see if they respond to my call:

Stanford & Google
Google Body

One of the biggest challenges I'm facing with the project is that 3D models are not actually 3D. For example, if the camera's clipping plane were to intersect an object you would see right through it and it would only appear to be paper thin. In other words, meshes don't have density or thickness associated with them, they are simply surface topology. This issue is especially crippling when trying to create software that is designed to go inside an object (in this case the human body) and explore its internal composition.

This rendering shows one possible solution to the problem:



Download video here

MRI scans courtesy of University of Washington Digital Anatomist Program


I call this technique deep rendering. I basically stacked graphical cross-sections (in this case, MRI rendering data), using proper increments and clipped through them with the camera. This way I am able to explore all internal components in full 3D real-time.

I actually was able to figure out how to colorize different organs to help distinguish them apart but couldn't get the shader to render real-time in Maya. Even if I had, this solution to the problem has very serious limitations so I probably won't be using it. An even better solution is to use geometry shaders which I plan to explore next so stay tuned...

One of the things I've been exploring is the possibility of optimizing performance through LOD's that use normal maps for preserving the appearance of detail. Here are the three levels of detail I used:


http://digitaldouble.net/blog/SOM/som_lodwire.jpg

The model on the far right was used to generate the normal maps for the other two. Here is what they look like when shaded:


http://digitaldouble.net/blog/SOM/som_lodshaded.jpg

As you can see, much of the detail is preserved which makes this a viable solution for improving performance without sacrificing too much of the visual quality.

I consider myself an artist first and a technician second, so I decided to combine this project with an artistic dream I've had ever since I heard about 3D printing technology. The dream being to create digital sculptures as a fine art. So I approached Bradley Rigdon, CEO of Print To 3D and asked him if they were up for the challenge. Sure enough, they were and you can see here the beautiful result they were able to achieve:


http://digitaldouble.net/blog/SOM/som_print_01.jpg

It wasn't easy. They had various hurdles to overcome, first the hurdle of generating a model that could be read by their system and second getting it to print without breaking. This last and successful print took over 24 hours to generate followed by carefully removing (by hand) all the support material used to keep the shape in place while it solidified. To see this process in action check out this video on YouTube. Here is an image showing what the model looked like before the structural material was removed:


http://digitaldouble.net/blog/SOM/som_print_02.jpg

Additional photographs of the digital sculpture:


http://digitaldouble.net/blog/SOM/som_print_03.jpg


http://digitaldouble.net/blog/SOM/som_print_04.jpg

This sculpture is the first in what will be a series of nine digital sculptures. I've titled this one "Man of Two Visions".

I began this project out of a strong personal desire to immerse myself in the vast universe of human anatomy, a subject that has fascinated me since I was a little boy. My ultimate intent with the project is to create software that will allow artists, medical students and professionals to benefit from a real-time application that allows them to fully interact with, and examine the human figure in ways that only digital technology can offer.

The model you see below is the figure in its current untextured and hairless state. He's over 270,000 polygons controlled by 193 individually placed bones/matrices that have all been custom rigged to render the appearance of natural skin deformation. .


http://digitaldouble.net/blog/SOM/som_01.jpg

Other than the integumentary system partially seen here, plans are already underway to generate all internal organs and systems of the human body. The basic application which will include the integumentary, skeletal & muscular systems will be available free of charge so that all those interested in learning about basic gross human anatomy are not hindered by the expense. A deluxe version with all additional systems will be available for a reasonable fee to help medical professionals and educational institutions benefit from this tool.

Giving the user full control over the body is one of the strongest features this application will offer with over 40 controllers for manipulating the characters body movement and facial expression; 17 additional controllers for flexing and deflexing muscles and mathematical expressions that automate secondary motion for fatty masses on the body.

We also plan to have various rendering modes to help the user differentiate from different systems and different elements within these systems, such as organs, glands, veins, etc. A solid search feature will be key to help the user find what their looking for quickly and effectively.

In the end we hope to have a robust atlas of the human body in full 3D with real-time interactivity. Digital Double is currently seeking funding for the project and plans to approach granting institutions as well as venture capitalist. If you have an interest in supporting this effort please send me your comments or questions to kamal@digitaldouble.net.