Computer‐generated three‐dimensional reconstruction of the mediastinm correlated with sectional and radiological anatomy

We describe a three‐dimensional computer‐generated model of the human mediastinum. Contours were manually traced from photographs of a serially sectioned, unfixed frozen cadaver block, Using software developed in‐house, the contours were digitized, automatically assembled and placed in registration, and displayed on a high performance graphics workstation as surfaced images. The model thus produced has advantages over traditional representations of anatomical structures; it is realistic, accurate, efficient, and flexible. Each anatomical component of the mediastinum is stored as a separate file in the computer and can be selectively accessed, displayed, and manipulated, allowing the model to be disassembled, reassembled, dissected, and viewed in any orientation. The model can be divided into a series of transversely cut “slabs,” the surfaces of which correlated with the anatomy displayed in the original cryosections and with radiological scans, thus permitting 2‐D sectional anatomy to be viewed in the context of the 3‐D model. Animation of the model can be accomplished by recording pre‐planned scripts onto videodiscs. The videodiscs serve as image archives that can be viewed in an interactive, self‐paced manner or accessed from a computer‐based multimedia system that is being developed by the Digital Anatomist Program. Anatomical reconstructions based on datasets of x‐, y‐, z‐coordinates have potential clinical applications as models that can be displayed to match the sectional planes of radiological images. The mediastinum model we describe is part of a large image database being developed by the Digital Anatomist Program that will form the spatial component of a knowledge base in structural biology. © 1992 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.