Most of us are probably curious what our insides look like beneath our skin. Initially, the notion of being able to see what lies underneath our flesh sounds amazing, but imagine actually standing in front of a mirror that revealed everything. We’re pretty much seeing what TSA agents at the airport see when we walk through those body scans.
The digital mirror that allows people to see what their organs look like will be put on show later this month at the Computer-Human Interaction Conference in Toronto, Canada. The mirror works by an individual going through a PET scan, X-ray and MRI to capture photographs of the body in high resolution. After the three and a half hour long process, the individual steps in front of the mirror revealing real-time, animated, high resolution images. Microsoft Kinect’s motion camera follows the movement of about two dozen joints, so it’s like being in front of a real mirror, except your innards are showing.
A medical imaging researcher at the University of Paris-South, Xavier Maître conducted an experiment that included 30 individuals being left alone with the digital mirror to look at their reactions. The participants were shown pre-recorded images of other individuals of the same sex, and found that one-third of the participants were uncomfortable with watching themselves in the digital mirror and letting others see.
Maître and his colleagues built the mirror to answer philosophical questions in regards to the body. However, they can see that the mirror could serve medical purposes as well and aid doctors in preparing for surgeries and operations. Maître has plans to make the digital mirror even more lifelike by including the heart beat and movements of the lungs.
Below is a video provided by New Scientist‘s youtube channel of the digital mirror.
(via New Scientist)
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