Thursday, April 6, 2017 • APG News B5 USARIEM develops virtual X-rays of anatomic avatars By Mallory Roussel avatars opens new state-of-the-art medical U.S. Army Research Institue of Environmental applications the Armycould use in the field,” Medicine Zientara said. “While X-rays are good for observing bone, we can use CT scans to take NATICK, Mass.- Scientists from the U.S. detailed pictures of the body from multiple Army Research Institute of Environmental angles in order to study soft tissues in the Medicine, or USARIEM, have been involved body, such as the brain, liver or abdominal since 2010 in developing a computer pro- organs. In a field hospital setting, for gram to create full-body, complete-anatomy example, surgeons could use CT scans of avatars of individual warfighters, which avatars to study what is hidden beneath the would make an impact on military medicine flesh and tissue of the patient.” throughout the U.S. Army. USARIEM’s BBMD is working with They succeeded in making avatars a Professor Steven Heymsfield from the reality in 2016. Pennington Biomedical Research Center at USARIEM researchers have now also Louisiana State University to further en- developed computer software to create hance USARIEM’s avatar software. Using virtual X-ray images of their avatars, allow- Heymsfield’s data collected from body scans ing them to better customize avatars to and DXA scans of hundreds of adult warfighters’ physical makeup. volunteer subjects, Zientara can modify the According to Dr. Gary Zientara, a math- avatar internal anatomy so there are fewer ematical modeler and avatar expert, this differences between actual DXA scans and technology is the key to designing future DXA scans computed from USARIEM’s software to produce avatars that best model virtual X-ray software. individuals’ body composition and internal “USARIEM’s avatars are currently cre- anatomy, regardless of gender, shape or size. ated at a lower spatial resolution,” Zientara “USARIEM’s avatars are created by said. “This can lead to minor distortions in morphing standard, gender-specific anato- the avatar body scans, compared to the my figures to fit the body scans acquired photographic quality X-rays we may re- from individuals,” said Zientara, of US- member if we have had a broken bone in the ARIEM’s Biophysics and Biomedical Mod- past.” eling Division, or BBMD. To solve this problem, Zientara is hoping “When creating avatars, the virtual X-ray to transfer the avatars to a supercomputer at software plays a special role. By simulating the Department of Defense High Perform- two whole-body X-rays acquired by using ance Computing Center. The higher resolu- high-energy and low-energy rays, the soft- tion of a supercomputer would allow ware can compose a dual-energy X-ray Zientara to create avatars that better model absorptiometry, or DXA, scan. DXA scans the shapes and contents of body anatomy. are a common and useful research tool at USARIEM is capable of constructing USARIEM, as well as other clinical medical male avatars, with hundreds already made. centers and research sites, because they can PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY MALLORY ROUSSEL, USARIEM While the current software can morph take a comprehensive snapshot of a person’s Scientists from the U.S. Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine, or USARIEM, standard anatomy into a body scan to create exact breakdown of bone, fat tissue and have developed virtual X-ray images of avatars, like the two dual-energy X-ray absorpti- an avatar for any person, Zientara is working muscle mass. For USARIEM’s avatar soft- ometry scans pictured above, to better customize avatars to warfighters' physical make- on developing software to accommodate ware,information from DXAscans can aid in up female, gender-specific anatomy to con- managing Soldier nutrition requirements, struct female avatars. directly contributing to Soldier readiness.” energy, and the rest is scattered. That is what tissues and how much the X-ray beam is “Simulating medical imaging using the When X-rays interact with muscle, fat, ends up producing the 2-D X-ray photo- absorbed or scattered as it goes through avatars not only aids USARIEM’s avatar organs and bones, they collide with many graphs of our bones, with denser organs like organs and bones. Besides 2-D X-ray photo- development, but it also demonstrates the atoms along the way. With denser tissues lungs and muscles darkening the film. graphs, however, Zientara can also sample principle clearly and visually that the avatars like bone, the X-ray transfers all of its energy According to Zientara, the virtual X-ray the virtual X-ray software data from differ- can be employed for a wide range of Army to the matter and it gets absorbed. That is software is able to replicate the actions of an ent angles of the body, creating computed simulation studies, reducing risk, costs and why bones are easier to see in X-rays. Softer X-ray by knowing the X-ray energy, the tomography, or CT, scans from the avatars. implementation time compared to the past,” organ tissue only absorbs some of the X-ray distance X-rays travel through various “The ability to compute CT scans from Zientara said. A(S>QD , + it’s life while being used as a _________. 8. The companion in “The Traveling Companion” is really the spirit of the ) 13. 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