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Virtual Animation of the Kinematics of the Human
for Industrial, Educational and Research Purposes EXPLICATIONS |
| home page | send your comments to sintjans@ulb.ac.be |
Table of contents
Introduction
Software to pre-install
Decompressing files (zipped files)
Virtual reality software (VRML files)
Accessing the models
Navigating in
virtual reality
INTRODUCTION
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The collection of 3D models
accessible on this site make up part of the pilot phase of a project which
will allow students from different fields to review osteology
coursework and avoid the costs of purchasing or renting a skeleton. The models available were
created using medical imaging. The final quality of the models depends
largely on the quality of the medical imaging. Thus it is not surprising that
the smallest anatomical structures are also those which are the most
difficult to visualise: you will notice that the models representing, for
example, the ‘navicular’ bone or the ‘lunate’ bone, contain some inaccuracies
(i.e., the segmentation artefacts from medical imaging are visible). Other models, however, are
very realistic, and we hope that these models will be of great use to
students. In fact, we need your input for
the following reasons: 1. This is only a pilot phase,
that is to say that we are still in the phase where we have quite a few
questions: What do students want from this sort of system? What sort of
information will be the most useful? Do they have easy access to the site? Is
the interface user-friendly? and so on … Because we have so many
questions, you are invited to fill-in the questionnaire provided (after
having used the site, of course!). 2. The site offers access to 3D
models which are more or less realistic according to the models visualised.
Certain models are also accessible in different formats (see below). Certain formats (VRML format)
allow nearly total interaction with the models (= virtual reality). Others
only allow relative interaction (MPEG or MOV formats) or no interaction (GIF
format). You are invited to test all of the formats available and then to
tell us which of them you prefer working with the most (via the
questionnaire). 3. The creation of each 3D model
requires a formidable amount of work. Now that we have a collection of models
finished and at your disposition, we would like to know if the result is
worth all of the work that was put into it … thus, your opinion is very
important for future developments. Do not forget to read the following sections: 3D manipulation is not very difficult, but a bit of explanation is necessary before you begin. Furthermore, you may need to install some additional software on your computer (freely available below). |
Software to pre-install
Decompressing
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How
to use
Accessing the 3D models You can access the 3D models by
going via the list of models. (see Fig. 1 below). This list is not yet
comprehensive and will be completed in the near future.
Fig.1. List of models available
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Navigating in virtual reality
1.
With simplicity in mind, we
recommend that you download the compressed version of these files – the 2.
You can also click on the ·
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In both options mentioned,
the reconstruction of the 3D models may take a few minutes … so please be
patient! ·
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Once reconstructed, the
virtual reality environment appears (Fig.2).
Fig.2. User interface ·
The control panel contains
several buttons (indicated by the arrows). Clicking on these buttons with the
mouse allows you to perform the following operations: Ø RESET (purple
arrow): returns the model to its initial
position. Ø SEARCH (black
arrow): click on the button, then
left-click on the part of the bone that you want to enlarge. Ø ZOOM (orange
arrow):
click on the button, then left-click in the window and hold the button down
while sliding the mouse to the top (to enlarge) or to the bottom (to reduce). Ø ROTATION (green
arrow): click on the button, then
left-click in the window and hold the button down while sliding the mouse in
the direction you want the image to rotate. Ø TRANSLATION
(blue arrow): click on the button, then
left-click in the window and hold the button down while sliding the mouse in
the direction you want the image to move. ·
Certain models are integrated in a more complex
environment (Fig. 3.).
Fig.3. Complex
models ·
These complex models show
different bones. The bones can be hidden with the square buttons integrated
and labelled in the environment (red arrow). ·
One click on the button
will hide the bone selected (Fig. 4).
Fig.4. Idem to
Fig. 3 after pressing on the ‘Tibia’ button. ·
The button representing the
hidden bone becomes round (Fig. 4). ·
Clicking on the button once
again will make the hidden bone re-appear. |
Last update: 1
June 2001