Research Of Zhongwan's 3Ds-Position On Voxel-Man

The science of Acupuncture and Moxibustion would not develop without the study on the Meridian and Points. We can' t demonstrate Meridian and Points without the study on it' s position and structure that are also the basis to clinic. Acupoints' position has been the basis and focus of the acupuncture's development process. The Meridian and Points have been exploring a long time, although so far no clear conclusion, But in the course of the study, the display of the Meridian and Points' position go deepper step by step from surface with the modern anatomical study methods. The Meridian and Points' location-reference become three-dimensional, and more richer and accurater. With the development of computer graphics, digital anatomy shows its superior than the physical anatomy by the permanent reuse and unlimited freedom and its superior to be the very best way to study the structure of the human. The VHP is so good an opportunity to the visualization of the location of Meridian and Acupoints. Traditionly, books on Acupuncture and Moxibustion describe the position of Meridian and Points no more than words and simple sketch. Even Wang weiyi' s acupuncture-model just labeled the Meridian and Points' position on the model' s surface. We had no better way to show the Meridian and Points' position and their interrelation with other organises in three-dimension. Until even now, the most of what we do are just meliorating the sketch and the model. For a long time, the location-show of the Meridian and Points has little development.Fortunately now, the VHP digital model which is based upon us human' s body can offer us browsing through our body freely, showing all the structure information of our body, the size, the shape, the location and the interrelation with others in three-dimension. We can now locate the Meridian and Points in this digital model which could show the accurate angle and depth of the needle in acupuncture treatment vividly, much more perceptibly and nicely than the sketch and the plastic model. The information provided by the VHP model will no just be helpful to the location, but also the exploring on hypostasis of the Meridian and Points.Be a up to the minute technology to show our body structure and the location of the Meridian and Points, the VHP should have drew much more attention. But for the high require of image manipulation and bankroll, the research of Meridian and Points on VHP model were not carried out widely.Although the digital model Voxel-man, based on the American VHP database have some shortage, couldn't display the little ramus vas or the little nerve, came from an unheal sample, the resolution of the picture is not high enough, the sample has no Chinese representative etc.. But the traditional sketch and the rough plastic model should have changed, the location-showing of tbe Meridian and Points shouldn't delay the step of chasing the technique progress just for a few weakness of the VHP production. We have to locate the Meridian and Points on non Chinese people in the progress of introducing Acupuncture and Massage to the world. Therefore, we shouldn't abnegate the production based on the white have been made when we carry on research based on the Chiese database. This text records a research of this kind, on how to apply the VHP' s production quickly into the location of Meridian and Points, a positive trial in the progress of the Meridian and Points' 3Ds-visualization.Objective: In this text we try to locate the acu-point Zhongwan on the pictures of the thorax and abdomen from the Voxel-man, the digital human model developed by the Hamburg university based on the VHP database, overleapping the progress of body-slicing, image-segmentation and 3Ds-reconstruction with high demand for equipments and bankroll. We just try to find a set of simple and fast method to apply the production of VHP to the location of the Meridian and points.Methods: In order to carry out the objective as quickly as possible, we can' t carry out our progress from body-slicing to image-segmentation and to 3Ds-reconstruction. Starting from the point of Voxel-man, We organize the pictures of the thorax and abdomen from the Voxel-man in the Macromedia Flash to simulate a part of thorax and abdomen being able to be dragged and circumrotate in left-right direction, and export a series of pictures of a needle made in the 3DMax matching the thorax and abdomen picture series to mark the acu-point of Zhongwan' s location.There are three pivotal problems in our fast progress:(1)Organizing the picture series to simulate a 3Ds object being able to be dragged and circumrotate.(2)Making the needle picture series matching the Zhongwan' s location according to the visual angle of the picture series of the thorax and abdomen from the Voxel-man.(3)Locating the Zhongwan' s position in the picture series of the thorax and abdomen from the Voxel-man.Results: The location of the Zhongwan marked in the picture series from the Voxel-man shows the size, the shape, the location and the interrelation with others of the structure contiguous to Zhongwan in 3Ds-looking vividly, much more better than the sketch. We can drag and circumrotate the thorax and abdomen picture series in left-right direction achieving our plan that it looks as if we are circumrotating the real object. And the mark picture series can move to change synchronously, imitating a real needle penetrated into the Zhongwan' s location nicely, looking different in each visual angle and showing the proper length in different stratum.Conclusion: The method of acu-point' s location introduced in this text has not high request to the image manipulation technique and equipments, and it imitate the 3Ds effectively. This method should be a simple and effective way to apply the VHP quickly to the visual location of the Meridian and Points.