The goal of this research project is to create an integrated, interactive, 3-D virtual environment consisting of anatomical parts, and physiological and pathophysiological processes. The approach consists of modeling: 1) Deformable soft tissue for anatomical organs, 2) Anatomical parts that are responsive to physiological changes, 3) Physiological behavior models, 4) Formal methods for integrating anatomical parts and physiological process variables and parameters, 5) Recovery of patient-specific data for anatomy (through computer vision techniques) and physiology, and 6) Real-time simulation and visualization methods. The results of this research will contribute: 1) New methodologies to enhance medical education through immersive visualization and interaction, and 2) Clinically-relevant and patient-specific models of acute injuries in trauma. The goal of the educational plan is the use of the software that will be developed from the proposed research in courses at the University of Pennsylvania. Through the exposure to a sophisticated and formal approach to science, new students are expected to appreciate and develop a deeper understanding of mathematics, physics, computer vision, computer graphics, and virtual environments, and their synthesis.
