An investigation to examine the most appropriate methodology to capture historical and modern preserved anatomical specimens for use in the digital age to improve access: a pilot study
Anatomico-pathological specimens constitute a valuable component of many medical museums or
institutional collections but can be limited in their impact on account of both physical and intellectual
inaccessibility. Further concerns relate to conservation as anatomical specimens may be subject to
tissue deterioration, constraints imposed by spatial or financial limitations of the host institution, or
accident-based destruction. In awareness of these issues, a simple and easily implementable
methodology to increase accessibility, impact and conservation of anatomical specimens is proposed
which combines photogrammetry, object virtual reality (object VR), and interactive portable document
format (PDF) with supplementary historical and anatomical commentary. The methodology was
developed using wet, dry, and plastinated specimens from the historical and modern collections in the
Museum of Anatomy at the University of Glasgow. It was found that photogrammetry yielded excellent
results for plastinated specimens and showed potential for dry specimens, while object VR produced
excellent photorealistic virtual specimens for all materials visualised. Use of PDF as output format was
found to allow for the addition of textual, visual, and interactive content, and as such supplemented the
virtual specimen with multidisciplinary information adaptable to the needs of various audiences. The
results of this small-scale pilot study indicate the beneficial nature of combining these established
techniques into a methodology for the digitisation and utilisation of historical anatomical collections in
particular, but also collections of material culture more broadly