Level Sample

Studying Anatomy Is Difficult!

Textbook diagrams are insufficient for deliberate studying, and modern anatomical models are expensive and delicate! Cadavers are the best way to study anatomy but can be quite impractical to source on a regular basis, and aren’t suited towards a large lecture environment. To help Veterinary students learn anatomy we have created a program that allows for immersive, collaborative studying in a VR environment.

The inherent advantage of studying Anatomy in a VR medium is that it enables users to interact with the model in an engaging, hands-on, and natural manner. This is in stark contrast to simply looking at a textbook, where the student has no real means of influencing the material they’re learning from. In this VR space, users are free to explore, move, pick-apart, and otherwise manipulate the anatomical structures to allow them to more easily understand them.

Anatomy is an inherently 3D study, so it only makes sense that a student should have regular opportunity to learn in a 3D way.

Hands On Exploration

Our project takes advantage of the natural movement provided by a VR headset to enable users to learn with a virtual model in a hands-on way. Users can move, rotate, pick apart, and otherwise manipulate the model using their hands in an intuitive way. This has the amazing potential to seriously increase the amount of “hands-on” time a student can get while learning anatomy due to the practical limitations of having regular access to cadavers.

A Suite Of Learning Tools

Along with a strong model manipulation system, our software arms users with a collection of learning tools to help them both in their process of becoming more confident with the anatomy, as well as in their process of viewing the model easily. Our software provides users with the ability to take quizzes, draw/take notes, view information on anatomy parts, and alter the visual properties of anatomy parts to make them highlighted, invisible, transparent, etc.

Convenient Access

Our software is distributed via the Oculus App Lab, this means updates/changes can be easily downloaded by users like any other application on the Oculus Quest 2. To get access to this application, your Oculus account can be manually whitelisted on to the user list by contacting the OSU Extended Reality Laboratory at:

Once you’ve been whitelisted, the app will be available on your Oculus Quest 2 for download in your app list. Updates will be automatically distributed.

Team Members

Quinn Hoffman

Quinn Hoffman is a Computer Science student with a specialization in Simulation and Game Programming. Graduating in 2024 magna cum laude, his expertise using Game Engines to design incredible user experiences was vital to the completion of this project.

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Ian Backus

Ian Backus is a Computer Science student and undergraduate researcher specializing in applied artificial intelligence. He has multiple years of experience in VR application development both under Raffaele De Amicis and outside companies, which has proven an asset in developing this project. He plans to graduate in spring of 2025.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank: Rafaele De Amicis, Elisa Monaco, Pranjali Ramesh Barve for their input, assistance, and confidence throughout the duration of this project.