Medicine + Technology + Art

After reviewing this week's materials I was able to fully grasp the importance of the connection between art and medical technology. During the lectures, I realized how much my own knowledge of the human body has come from art through textbooks and the internet. One of the topics that I felt influenced my understanding of this week's topic was the discussion of the Visible Human Project. This topic was discussed in lecture one of this week's material. Professor Vesna described this project as creating a “detailed data set of cross-sectional photographs of the human body in order to facilitate anatomy visualization application.” (Vesna. Lecture 1.7:10) The human body was sliced and analyzed which was transformative for the medical industry because it gave individuals an opportunity to examine the body from a new, more detailed perspective. I also thought that it was really interesting how Professor Vesna talked about how these data sets were used to teach and students could reconstruct the body. 

Example of crossectional slices from the Visible Human Body Project

I even found a source “imaios.com” which allowed me to scroll through the data set myself. As well as another source (www.nlm.nih.gov) that provided additional information on the top. 

An example of a labeled slice from a cadavers brain/ skull structure 

Another aspect that I found interesting was when Professor Vesna discussed the use of X-ray and magnetic imaging in lecture 2. I have definitely benefited from the discovery of Rontgen’s discovery of X-rays. Not only have I had multiple X-ray photos of injury but I also recently got an MRI. These technological advancements have not only helped me but have also saved the lives of others. 

MRI Machine

Sources

“How Does an MRI Scan Work?” YouTube, YouTube, 16 Apr. 2013, www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CGzk-nV06g.

“Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI).” National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, www.nibib.nih.gov/science-education/science-topics/magnetic-resonance-imaging-mri#:~:text=MRIs%20employ%20powerful%20magnets%20which,pull%20of%20the%20magnetic%20field.

Micheau, Dr. Antoine, and Dr. Denis Hoa. “Visible Human Project: Normal Anatomy: E-Anatomy.” IMAIOS, IMAIOS, 4 Oct. 2022, www.imaios.com/en/e-anatomy/whole-body/visible-human-project.

“The National Library of Medicine's Visible Human Project.” U.S. National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, www.nlm.nih.gov/research/visible/visible_human.html.

Vesna. Lecture 1. Medicine+Technology+Art. 

Vesna. Lecture 2. Medicine+Technology+Art