Evaluating phone camera and cloud service-based 3D imaging and printing of human bones for anatomical education

Objective To evaluate the feasibility of a phone camera and cloud service-based workflow to image bone specimens and print their three-dimensional (3D) models for anatomical education. Design The images of four typical human bone specimens, photographed by a phone camera, were aligned and converted into digital images for incorporation into a digital model through the Get3D website and submitted to an online 3D printing platform to obtain the 3D printed models. The fidelity of the 3D digital, printed models relative to the original specimens, was evaluated through anatomical annotations and 3D scanning. Setting The Morphologic Science Experimental Center, Central South University, China. Participants Specimens of four typical bones-the femur, rib, cervical vertebra and skull-were used to evaluate the feasibility of the workflow. Outcome measures The gross fidelity of anatomical features within the digital models and 3D printed models was evaluated first using anatomical annotations in reference to Netter's Atlas of Human Anatomy. The measurements of the deviation were quantised and visualised for analysis in Geomagic Control 2015. Results All the specimens were reconstructed in 3D and printed using this workflow. The overall morphology of the digital and 3D printed models displayed a large extent of similarity to the corresponding specimens from a gross anatomical perspective. A high degree of similarity was also noticed in the quantitative analysis, with distance deviations <= 2 mm present among 99% of the random sampling points that were tested. Conclusion The photogrammetric digitisation workflow adapted in the present study demonstrates fairly high precision with relatively low cost and fewer equipment requirements. This workflow is expected to be used in morphological/anatomical science education, particularly in institutions and schools with limited funds or in certain field research projects involving the fast acquisition of 3D digital data on human/animal bone specimens or on other remains.