The Visible Human Project: Re-visualizing anatomy

The Visible Human Project (VHP) is an undertaking by the U.S National Library of

Medicine (NLM). It is an anatomically detailed, three-dimensional digital

representation of both the male and the female human bodies, which is publicly

available through the Internet. It provides a library of cross- sectional, cryosection, CT and MRI images obtained from one male and one female cadaver. The project was conceptualized in 1986. The male cadaver was digitized in 1994, the female in 1995. Recently, Susan Potter, a disability rights activist, donated her body to the VHP. It was her display of immense moral strength and active campaigning for this cause that gathered it popularity in the recent times.

Anatomy is the basis of medical science, and thus, it is the dead who must teach the living this. Dissection of corpses was in practice from the early 16th century.

However, there's always a certain degree of taboo and reservation associated with

dissection of bodies. Moreover, accessibility to such bodies is limited and

expensive.  This is the primary reason why NLM started this project, in order to

advance anatomical education.

The VHP had initially accepted bodies that were in perfect condition. However, in

2015, they broke this rule in the case of Susan Potter. Potter had undergone various

surgeries, including mastectomy and hip replacement. However, the doctors felt that having a digitized anatomy of a diseased body which doctors would deal with in real life would be of greater practical utility.

In order to obtain high resolution images of the human bodies, the cadavers were

sliced at intervals of around 1 mm, and each section was then appropriately

preserved and analyzed using cryosection technology. After this, the sections are

digitized using MRI or CT. Before this, each cadaver was frozen for about 2 years.

Although anatomical information can be digitized by scanning the bodies of live

subjects as well, sectioned, coloured images give a detailed view of all the

anatomical parts we are composed of, thus providing much more information.

Researchers have also started using these virtual human bodies to perform

experiments that would be too risky to do on live subjects, because the digital tissues can respond like actual ones when stimulated digitally. A team at Worcester

Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts has started studying the effects of metal

implants in the body tissues using this virtual model. Having all the female body

tissues in digitised in detail also allows researchers to run experiments specific to

female diseases, such as breast cancer. They hope to develop a better technology

for mammography using this virtual female body. A team has also started research

on the effects of cell phone usage on the brain using the virtual brain model, and

also assessing the safety of a brain stimulation technique called transcranial direct

current stimulation (tDCS), which is being developed as a possible treatment for a

range of conditions, including depression, dementia, schizophrenia and chronic pain.

The team of NLM have made the model freely available, and it can be modified using basic software already used in labs all over the world. With a stroke of the mouse, one can dissect, damage, reassemble and repair any portion of the human body.

"Creating the phantom took a lot of work, but now anyone can run an experiment on their laptop"

Vic Spitzer, the man who operates this project at present, has taken this a step further. He requested Susan Potter to record a detailed narrative of her medical history and surgeries, so that this audio could be digitally merged with a visual of the sections of her tissues, so that the medical students get a wholesome idea of medical care.

Completion of this project with Susan Potter's cadaver will take a few years more, however, that will become one of the greatest achievements in the field of physiology of this century.