Construction of an Anatomically Accurate 3D Model of the Head and Neck Region of a Male Cadaver Using Digital Technologies to Enhance Dental Education and Training

NHS Education for Scotland is supporting an innovative programme to develop a digital anatomical training product of head and neck anatomy based on cadaveric dissection. This will be used to teach complex anatomy to trainees in the field of dentistry and related professions. This has been undertaken by detailed serial dissections of the head and neck of a dentate male cadaver. Following each layer of dissection, ultra high-resolution 3D laser scanning was undertaken with an Infinite Cim Core Arm 2.0, seven axis portable arm. High-resolution image capture was undertaken by digital photography. A complete dataset of all structures has now been collected and has been attached to 3D volumetric data. It includes every bone of the skull and cervical vertebrae. This has allowed large datasets to be constructed in such a way as to allow the generation of exceptionally accurate anatomical dissections of head and neck anatomy to be manipulated in real time to enhance the learning experience of those in the dental professions. Haptic tools are also being developed for an inferior nerve block to aid surgical training. This project is generating innovative training products for dental education in a very complex field of anatomy