There's a new personal health tool on the block. Yesterday, Healthline Network and GE launched a free 3-D visual search tool for the human body called BodyMaps, which allows users to navigate male and female anatomy, view systems and organs down to their smallest parts and explore in detail how the body works. MIT Technology Review reports:
At the center of the BodyMaps page is a 3-D image of the body; at left is textual information about the body section being shown. As a user mouses over the text, the section of the body in the image is highlighted, and vice versa if a user mouses over the image. At the bottom is a scrubber that lets the user rotate the body 360 degrees. The page also features videos, tips on staying healthy, information on symptoms and conditions, and a definition of the section in view.
The user can select a body region to explore by clicking the text or image, or by using the search tool. Selecting shoulders generated a crisp, high-definition 3-D image of the shoulder section, starting at the skin level, with the option to click through to see the muscles, nerves and vessels, and bone. Choosing the deltoid muscle, a definition popped up and the remaining muscles were shaded out. An option to read more provided a lengthy definition and description of the muscle, including common injuries and their causes and symptoms.
In the future, BodyMaps will include predictive views of what happens to the body based on human behavior, diseases and specific conditions such as how cancer tumors grow or what happens to as the body ages, according to a release.
Previously: Virtual dissection table helps teach human anatomy
