Virtual temporal bone: an interactive 3-dimensional learning aid for cranial base surgery

The virtual model was based on the tomographic data of the Visible Human Project. The male Visible Human s computed tomographic data were volumetrically reconstructed as virtual bone tissue, and the individual photographic slices provided the basis for segmentation of the middle and inner ear structures, cranial nerves, vessels, and brainstem. These structures were created by using outlining and tube editing tools, allowing structural modeling either directly on the basis of the photographic data or according to information from textbooks and cadaver dissections. For training and teaching, the virtual model was accessed in the previously described 3-dimensional workspaces of the Dextroscope or Dextrobeam (Volume Interactions Pte, Ltd., Singapore), whose interfaces enable volumetric exploration from any perspective and provide virtual tools for drilling and measuring.