DIGIHOM - the Digital Man

Understanding the complex human anatomy has long been the goal and dread alike of medical students. Similarly, patients appreciate understanding more about the diagnosis which the surgeon or doctor has just made. Until recently, printed anatomy atlases provided the only readily available information source. Now, the first digital atlases are available which allow the user to interactively inspect parts of the anatomy. However, these systems are still restricted to the two-dimensional representations. The possibilities to interact with these systems are very limited and the data source is more less old fashioned. From our experience we know that understanding complex spatial structures is best possible by being able to inspect the structure from arbitrary directions. Therefore, what is needed is the ability to freely rotate the structure in space. With the advent of powerful but affordable three-dimensional graphics processors this ambition can become a reality. However, this approach a lso requires a radical redesign from existing two-dimensional systems. This is the declared aim of the DIGIHOM project.