About

OsteoRenderings was started by Terrie Simmons-Ehrhardt to provide virtual and 3D printed resources for teaching and learning osteology using publicly available computed tomography (CT) scans and/or from surface scans of actual bones. Resources may be useful to educators at K-12 and university levels as well as to students to have at-home study materials.

Data Sources

OsteoRenderings contains both original models and remixes. Original models have been segmented from CT or micro CT scans or generated from 3D surface scans of actual bones. Remixes are models that have been optimized for 3D printing from models made available online by other institutions with commercial usage allowed. 

Source CT scans are from the following sites (links to specific collections or volumes are provided in model descriptions; only data allowing commercial use and distribution are used):

• The Cancer Imaging Archive: 

  • Clark K, Vendt B, Smith K, Freymann J, Kirby J, Koppel P, Moore S, Phillips S, Maffitt D, Pringle M, Tarbox L, Prior F. The Cancer Imaging Archive (TCIA): maintaining and operating a public information repository. Journal of Digital Imaging. 2013 Dec;26(6):1045-57. DOI: 10.1007/s10278-013-9622-7

• CT Lymph Nodes Collection: 

  • Roth, H., Lu, L., Seff, A., Cherry, K. M., Hoffman, J., Wang, S., Liu, J., Turkbey, E., & Summers, R. M. (2015). A new 2.5 D representation for lymph node detection in CT [Data set]. The Cancer Imaging Archive. https://doi.org/10.7937/K9/TCIA.2015.AQIIDCNM 

  • Roth, H. R., Lu, L., Seff, A., Cherry, K. M., Hoffman, J., Wang, S., Liu, J., Turkbey, E., & Summers, R. M. (2014). A New 2.5D Representation for Lymph Node Detection Using Random Sets of Deep Convolutional Neural Network Observations. In Medical Image Computing and Computer-Assisted Intervention – MICCAI 2014 (pp. 520–527). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-10404-1_65 

• Embodi3D

3D Prints

3D prints are printed with a bone white polylactic acid (PLA) filament with a matte finish. The color is a very light beige. In some cases, hand painting may be applied (this will be indicated in the model description). PLA is heat sensitive and should not be placed in direct sunlight or the dishwasher. Clean with a damp cloth if needed.

The 3D printing process involves laying down 2D layers of plastic with varying thicknesses to result in a full 3D model. This process requires support structures for any parts of the model that are above the build plate. These support structures can leave visible marks on the final model.

OsteoRenderings' prints have been tested to find the optimum print orientation and settings that minimize support scarring (especially in diagnostic areas) while producing high detail in the model. Visible support artifacts are subject to minor post-processing, involving spot sanding and heat.