title: Semi-automatic scene generation using the Digital Anatomist Foundational Model.
abstract: A recent survey shows that a major impediment to more widespread use of computers in anatomy education is the inability to directly manipulate 3-D models, and to relate these to corresponding textual information. In the University of Washington Digital Anatomist Project we have developed a prototype Web-based scene generation program that combines the symbolic Foundational Model of Anatomy with 3-D models. A Web user can browse the Foundational Model (FM), then click to request that a 3-D scene be created of an object and its parts or branches. The scene is rendered by a graphics server, and a snapshot is sent to the Web client. The user can then manipulate the scene, adding new structures, deleting structures, rotating the scene, zooming, and saving the scene as a VRML file. Applications such as this, when fully realized with fast rendering and more anatomical content, have the potential to significantly change the way computers are used in anatomy education.
authors.affiliation: Department Biological Structure, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle 98195, USA.
authors.forename: B A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Rosse
authors.forename: J F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Brinkley
mesh_terms: D000715:Anatomy / Q000193:education*; D019412:Anatomy, Cross-Sectional; D003196:Computer Graphics; D003194:Computer-Assisted Instruction; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D020407:Internet; D008488:Medical Illustration; D008953:Models, Anatomic