IBM develops "Google Earth for the body"

Researchers at IBM have developed visualisation software that lets doctors see medical data on a 3D avatar, the firm announced today.

The Anatomic and Symbolic Mapper Engine (ASME) prototype software, created at the Zurich Research Lab, will let doctors click on a part of the avatar's body to trigger a search of medical records. ASME integrates different types of data - text records, lab results and images such as radiographs - and links it to an anatomical model, making it easier to cross-reference and navigate data.

"It's like Google Earth for the body," said IBM healthcare researcher Andre Elisseeff. "In hopes of speeding the move toward electronic healthcare records, we've tried to make information easily accessible for healthcare providers by combining medical data with visual representation, making it as simple as possible to interact with data that can improve patient care."