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Innovation

The most intimate look at the human body in 3-D ever

The first online 3-D interactive search tool goes online via a new tool called BodyMaps. The most impressive look at the human anatomy, developed by Healthline Networks.
Written by Boonsri Dickinson, Contributing Editor

It's not that often you can search another person's body in 3-D and it not be a private moment in the bedroom, but the first online 3-D interactive search tool of the human body was released this week.

The new tool is called BodyMaps, and online users have the option of exploring the anatomy of a male or female and can zoom into muscles and strip the body down all the way to the bones.

The map was developed by Healthline Networks, and took 10 years to complete. Words can only say so much. If you are curious, go here to play with the online tool to see the human body in 3-D for yourself. Check out the brain, eye, hand and knee - and more.

"This is not a science experiment," West Shell, CEO of Healthline Networks, told Technology Review. "We have built this as a search product for consumer education," he said.

Soon, the company will launch a mobile and tablet version of the 3-D human body tool.

According to Technology Review, the company will launch a service next month that lets people search 20 different scenarios centered around one of four things:

  • the progression of diseases
  • how drugs work in the body
  • what happens during a medical procedure
  • how an injury looks in the body

Google rolled out with a similar product, the Google Body Browser, which literally strips away every muscle, gland, nerve, tissue, bone and organ from the human body. But unlike BodyMaps, Google's body project is limited to Chrome browser users.

Imagine uploading your medical imagery and comparing it to the human body on BodyMaps. In the near future, Healthline plans on partnering with GE to upload its electronic medical record system with BodyMaps. For now, don't search too hard on online - the company has a few body parts to fill in before BodyMaps is truly complete.

The Human Body, Searchable in 3-D [Technology Review] via Healthline

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