GSA Postgrad
Showcase 2021

Early exposure to science, technology, engineering and maths has been suggested as a key way to encourage young people into STEM fields, and incorporating novel educational resources, such as 3D visualisation technologies, alongside more traditional teaching pedagogies can be an efficient means to engage young students with learning.

Digital visualisations have been used to help educate young people on a variety of anatomical topics, and can be beneficial to students’ learning experience, both in terms of knowledge acquisition and student engagement. One such 3D visualisation technology that is now being explored for its educational use is that of holographic projection, however cost has been identified as one of the main barriers to its use. As such, the development of cost-effective approaches to holographic visualisation can help to remove financial barriers to access this novel approach.

This project developed a hologram-based anatomy application in combination with a cost-effective holographic projection system, suitable for educational environments. Innovative visualisation methods were utilised to produce the HoloAnatomy application, which enables students to interact with 3D anatomical models using a voice command system. The app can be viewed on the tabletop HoloViewer, which was built using cheap and readily accessible materials and could be easily reproduced by a person with basic DIY skills. These developments represent a step towards the use of low-cost digital holographic projection in anatomy education, something that will hopefully help to encourage the engagement of young people with anatomy in the future.