With current developments in stem cell research and improvements in gestational diagnostic imaging, a renewed interest in human embryological development is growing. However, a modern reference of human development does not exist in the marketplace. This proposal describes the development of a 3D atlas of human development based on volume-rendered computer graphic models of human embryos reconstructed from primary histology and presented on the DVD-Video platform. Unregistered, and often damaged, serial sections are aligned, repaired, and re-constructed into volumetric models which are then animated and rendered to create didactic video presentations of the embryonic form in full-motion 3D computer graphics. Motion graphic overlays are then added to create a 3D labeling system. The pre-rendered video sequences are then compiled into an interactive DVD-Video prototype atlas. The pedagogical objectives of any reference atlas are to teach the structure of an organism and the anatomical terms associated with its substructures. Traditional atlases of human anatomy and embryology are difficult to master because they rely on 2-dimensional views, which do not efficiently convey the actual 3-dimensional relationships between anatomical structures. An embryo atlas has an additional level of difficulty since the physical form is completely unknown to common experience and it is dynamic. Moreover, current atlases (2D) of embryonic form are derived from thin sections, which require the learner to first understand the plane of section and then to build a 3D conceptual model of the embryo in order to interpret the atlas. A 3D atlas overcomes these difficulties by providing a 3D representation of the embryo. The use of DVD-Video platform provides a high-quality interactive video presentation platform with simple and universal playback. The combination of high-fidelity volume reconstructions and reliable, high-quality, interactive playback create a modern and useful 3D atlas of human development.
