NLM3D: an open-source library of medical-imaging-derived 3D polygonal models for use in public health, medical and STEM applications

Authors

• KM Browne
• AR Altemus

Abstract

Medical and scientific communications professionals are increasingly utilizing animation, gaming platforms, and augmented/virtual reality to engage with their audiences. The NLM3D project aims to capture and translate the wealth of high-resolution 3D imaging data that is being produced by the scientific community, making it more readily available for ongoing communications efforts. As a starting point, the Visible Human image archives from the National Library of Medicine are being processed into high quality, production-ready 3D polygonal anatomical models (NLM3D: Anatomy). Models are uploaded to a MS SQL database that is managed with a Drupal content management system. A custom user interface requires inclusion of all model, imaging, and anatomical details. Resources are organized according to medical ontologies, while established industry standards for 3D modeling have been adopted for quality control purposes. This system can be easily adapted to additional data-types, including veterinary anatomy, cellular and subcellular structures, or molecular models. As such, NLM3D: Anatomy is only the beginning of what could become an expansive and comprehensive suite of scientific 3D model libraries.

Scientific Focus Area: Immunology

This page was last updated on Friday, March 26, 2021