Technology News Roundup - A Better View of the Human Body

Computer imagery has revolutionized the field of medicine. Now it looks set to make another contribution with wide-ranging applications, thanks to researchers at the University of Calgary. They have created a “Caveman” – a larger-than-life computer image that allows users to examine a human body in a booth that gives the image height, width and depth.

Caveman’s unique feature is that it also plots the passage of time, making this a “four-D” image. Six years in the making, Caveman can help researchers who are trying to learn more about the genetics of diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and Alzheimer’s. Since doctors and scientists can add the unique visuals of patients to Caveman, its uses are multiplied.

Speaking as someone who has gone through some medical procedures, it can be hard to relate to an X-ray or an ultrasound or plain MRI results. But imagine that you’re a patient and your doctor has taken you into the Caveman’s booth. You put on the goggles and see a high-resolution full-color 3D image that looks so real it’s hard to resist touching it. While Caveman is standing right in front of you, your doctor manipulates a controller, rather like a video game, to show various parts of its body – with your test results included in the image. Better still, it shows your test results over time, so you can see the development of your condition. It can give you a much better understanding of what’s going on.

Caveman is remarkable for a number of reasons. It’s the only model of its kind that is complete. A user can focus on anything: skin, muscle, organs, bones, veins. With the ability to superimpose the test results on the image, several specialists can work together more easily to treat one patient. Perhaps what is most amazing is what inspired its creation: it wasn’t cancer researchers, but massage therapists. Massage therapy teachers at a company in Red Deer wanted a more intricate picture of muscles and bones to help their students.

Caveman has many potential medical uses. In addition to the ones I’ve already cited, it could be used instead of cadavers as a teaching tool. Surgeons could also use it to carefully plan out operations before conducting them. The researchers envision future versions of Caveman used in hospitals; they’d also like to add the element of touch to the image.

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