Creating 3D models to Illustrate positioning in Neurosurgery

Neurosurgical positioning is sparsely covered in standard textbooks. When the topic is addressed, chapters often lack illustrations entirely or rely on 2D diagrams and photos. These photos are typically anonymized images of real patients already positioned for surgery. However, even when partially covered with surgical drapes and facial blocking for anonymity, patient photos can introduce distracting visual information. Furthermore, because these photos are limited to one or two static angles, it can be difficult for the reader to grasp a holistic view of the positioning.

To address this, 3D modeling software offers a compelling alternative. While creating a human model from scratch is highly challenging, several software options provide pre-made 3D male and female models with robust posing capabilities. For this project, I used posemy.art.

This intuitive online platform features male and female models with joint controls that mimic physiological range of motion. It also includes a library of 3D props, such as pillows, and allows users to color the models. While projects can be saved in the software's proprietary format, the only available export option is .obj, which unfortunately strips away color and texture information.

To overcome this limitation, I imported the .obj file into Blender, where I manually reapplied color to the human model and its positioning props (specifically, a pillow between the knees and a sandbag under the shoulder for a lateral position model). For high-quality video rendering, I chose KeyShot. To preserve the model's colors during the transition from Blender to KeyShot, I utilized the official KeyShot plugin for Blender to transfer the assets directly.

Once the model was in KeyShot, I positioned the camera above the head and used the Animation Wizard to create an automated camera tour around the model. This animation was then rendered and published to YouTube.

To take the project a step further and provide an interactive 3D model that viewers could manipulate themselves, I hosted a .glb file (which preserves color data) on GitHub. I then used the URL of the uploaded file to to wrap and render the interactive model via Babylonjs.com

During the entire technical workflow, I used Gemini.ai as a guide to troubleshoot and streamline the process from start to finish.

The YouTube video can be viewed at : https://youtu.be/SwwfXfO612o
The interactive 3D model can be viewed at babylonjs.com at: https://sandbox.babylonjs.com/?assetUrl=https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Naren0517/neurosurgery/cb42044b83b98a527f9d5b01f76e6a5bd47b0b86/lateral.glb