Med3DPresenter: when a surface becomes a space

Teaching anatomy is one of the cornerstones of medical studies. However, whilst textbooks, slides and cross-sectional images are usually two-dimensional, clinical reality is three-dimensional. This is precisely where an award-winning teaching project at the Medical University of Graz comes in: the Med3DPresenter. 

Since 2023, the Medical University of Graz has been awarding an annual special grant totalling 50,000 euros to improve the quality of teaching. The three best submissions are awarded prizes each year. One of the award-winning projects is the Med3DPresenter. The idea for this teaching platform, as well as its conceptual and technical development over several months, originated with Stefan Wolfsberger from the Department of Neurosurgery in Graz. 

From two-dimensional images to three-dimensional understanding 

The starting point was a key question: how can complex surgical teaching content be conveyed in a way that comes as close as possible to working in the operating theatre? Spatial thinking is crucial, particularly in neurosurgery. “Precision is a matter of seeing in the third dimension. Recognising depth means being able to make decisions down to the millimetre with confidence,” emphasises Stefan Wolfsberger. Anatomical structures are functionally highly sensitive and often accessible only via microsurgical approaches. A reliable three-dimensional understanding is therefore essential.

The Med3DPresenter was originally developed for neuroanatomy. The software enables the stereoscopic display of anatomical models and photographs, as well as clinical image data such as MRI and CT scans and surgical videos. Structures can be rotated and zoomed in on in real time and analysed in their functional context. Traditional two-dimensional teaching materials can be integrated and linked to three-dimensional content. 

In the large anatomy lecture theatre, the content is displayed on a 7.3 × 4.1-metre LED wall, visible to up to 500 students at the same time. However, it is not so much the technical aspect as the educational value that is crucial: the direct link between structure, function and clinical issues becomes clear. A pathological finding appears not merely as a marker on a cross-sectional image, but as a spatially embedded phenomenon in relation to blood vessels, nerve pathways and functional centres. “With the Med3DPresenter, we provide students with interactive 3D teaching that bridges the gap between anatomical knowledge and microsurgical excellence,” explains Stefan Wolfsberger. 

Although developed within the field of neurosurgery, the platform can also be adapted for other disciplines, provided that suitable three-dimensional datasets are available. Learning thus becomes an active process that sustainably enhances spatial orientation, clinical reasoning and, ultimately, the quality of medical training.