A Virtual Reality Atlas of Craniofacial Anatomy
- 1 November 2007
- journal article
- Published by Wolters Kluwer Health in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
- Vol. 120 (6), 1641-1646
- https://doi.org/10.1097/01.prs.0000282452.22620.25
Abstract
Head and neck anatomy is complex and represents an educational challenge to the student. Conventional two-dimensional illustrations inherently fall short in conveying intricate anatomical relationships that exist in three dimensions. A gratis three-dimensional virtual reality atlas of craniofacial anatomy is presented in an effort to address the paucity of readily accessible and customizable three-dimensional educational material available to the student of head and neck anatomy. Three-dimensional model construction was performed in Alias Maya 4.5 and 6.0. A basic three-dimensional skull model was altered to include surgical landmarks and proportions. Some of the soft tissues were adapted from previous work, whereas others were constructed de novo. Texturing was completed with Adobe Photoshop 7.0 and Maya. The Internet application was designed in Viewpoint Enliven 1.0. A three-dimensional computer model of craniofacial anatomy (bone and soft tissue) was completed. The model is compatible with many software packages and can be accessed by means of the Internet or downloaded to a personal computer. As the three-dimensional meshes are publicly available, they can be extensively manipulated by the user, even at the polygonal level. Three-dimensional computer graphics has yet to be fully exploited for head and neck anatomy education. In this context, the authors present a publicly available computer model of craniofacial anatomy. This model may also find applications beyond clinical medicine. The model can be accessed gratis at the Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Web site or obtained as a three-dimensional mesh, also gratis, by contacting the authors.Keywords
This publication has 17 references indexed in Scilit:
- Designing a Virtual Reality Model for Aesthetic SurgeryPlastic and Reconstructive Surgery, 2005
- Applications of Virtual Reality in Aesthetic SurgeryPlastic and Reconstructive Surgery, 2005
- Morphometric measurements from various reference points in the orbit of male CaucasiansSurgical and Radiologic Anatomy, 2002
- Building 3D anatomical scenes on the WebThe Journal of Visualization and Computer Animation, 2002
- AnatomyBrowser: a Novel Approach to Visualization and Integration of Medical InformationComputer Aided Surgery, 1999
- Herophilus of Alexandria (325-255 B. C.)Spine, 1998
- Blood Supply of the Le Fort I Maxillary Segment: An Anatomic StudyPlastic & Reconstructive Surgery, 1997
- The Median Forehead Flap RevisitedPlastic and Reconstructive Surgery, 1985
- The Medial Canthus Revisited—An Anatomical Basis for CanthopexyAnnals of Plastic Surgery, 1983
- Avoiding Facial Nerve Injuries in Rhytidectomy Anatomical Variations and PitfallsPlastic and Reconstructive Surgery, 1979