(Image Credit: BioDigital)
3D human body modeling startup, BioDigital, has been on a mission over the past couple of years to virtualise our bodies and has amassed an impressive collection of 7,000 objects. Each body part has been hand-modeled with meticulous detail, which can respond to different use cases.
For the medical industry, this has almost endless potential. Surgeons can practice difficult procedures in a realistic virtual scenario, before heading into the operating room and putting someone’s life at risk. Athletes could monitor their muscle movements in order to improve their performance, or see how an injury has occurred.
More than 100 organisations have been involved in the creation of BioDigital, and others have begun to use it to advance their research and capabilities. One example is the National Institute of Health, who is using BioDigital to map bacteria in the body. Another is MyFace, a nonprofit that provides treatment to patients with craniofacial conditions, which uses a virtual human to educate doctors around the world how to perform cleft palate operations.
Developers worldwide can now access the power of BioDigital through leveraging a new API which allows for different representations of the human body within your applications. BioDigital has uploaded a video to their YouTube channel, shown below, which demonstrates how this can be achieved.
Medical and health-related applications look set to remain in demand. According to the latest PEW report, 72 percent of Internet users searched for health information online in the past 12 months. Not surprisingly, 77 percent of that group consulted Google.
BioDigital is offering developers and their users with a better method of visualising the body, whether for educational purposes or to help diagnose an issue. Earlier this year, BioDigital partnered with About.com to provide interactive visualisations for common health conditions. For example, people searching for information about Type 2 diabetes will be presented with a 3D model of a cell’s response to insulin to understand the process.
Now wearable devices are collecting more information about our bodies than ever before, and collected in platforms such as Apple HealthKit and Google Fit, this information can be turned into actionable insights on a 3D model of ourselves.
To get started with BioDigital’s API, head to their website here.
Do you think BioDigital has the potential to change the medical industry? Let us know in the comments.
