3D Vector Reconstruction of Coronary Arteries from Korean Visible Woman Sections at the Clinical and Numerical Anatomy Laboratory of the Faculty of Medicine and Odontostomatology in Bamako

Abstract

Aim: To carry out a 3D reconstruction of the coronary arteries from the anatomical sections of the “Korean Visible Woman” for educational purposes. Material and Methods: The anatomical sections of a 26-year-old Korean woman who died of stomach cancer and donated her body were made in 2010 after an MRI and CT scan. A special saw made it possible to make cuts of 0.2 mm thickness on the frozen body, i.e. 5960 cuts. Only sections numbered from 1500 to 2000 (i.e. 500 sections of the thorax) were used for our study. A segmentation by manual contouring of each vascular structure was done using Winsurf software version 3.5 on a laptop running Windows 7 with a RAM of 8 gigabytes. Results: Our vector 3D model of the coronary arteries includes the following: the left coronary artery and its branches, the right coronary artery and its branches, the coronary sinus, the anterior veins of the heart, and the minimal veins of the heart. This model is easy to manipulate using the Acrobat 3Dpdf interface. Each vessel accessible in a menu can be shown, hidden or made transparent, and 3D labels are available as well as educational menus for learning about the vascularization of the heart. Conclusion: Vascularization of the heart is a prerequisite for understanding the physiology and semiology of coronary heart failure. This reconstruction of the vessels of the heart is an educational tool that allows us to teach the vascularization of the heart. It could also be used as a 3D atlas for simulation purposes for training in coronary angioplasty and coronary artery bypass grafting procedures.