Medical students of the future may spend less time doing autopsies to learn anatomy and more time in augmented reality. The Cleveland Clinic and Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland have developed the HoloAnatomy app for the Microsoft HoloLens headset that enables students to probe the body using augmented reality.
Developer Jeff Mlakar told a Microsoft conference, as he made a small hand gesture that caused a holographic body to rotate to reveal the organ, “It’s really easy to get the best view of things.”
The device superimposes computer-generated 3-D graphics onto a person’s field of view, blending reality with virtual reality. Hand gestures and voice recognition are used for controls. Labels can be inserted to teach anatomy. The HoloAnatomy app has a test-taking mode during which the labels are removed and the user has to identify the body parts. A remote instructor can join in on the lesson.
