. Annual report. Harvard University. Museum of Comparative Zoology. COLLECTIONS A New, Powerful Three-Dimensional Research Tool. A mummified bird scanned liy Emma Slur rati, postdoctoral fellow in the Losos lab, and Adam Aja, Assistant Curator of Collections at the Semitic Museum Over the past few decades, micro-CT scanners have become increasingly valuable for gathering detailed specimen data in a non-invasive manner. By combining this data with 3-D modeling techniques, researchers are able to visualize the skeletal structure and understand die functioning of creatures botii modern and ancien
. Annual report. Harvard University. Museum of Comparative Zoology. COLLECTIONS A New, Powerful Three-Dimensional Research Tool. A mummified bird scanned liy Emma Slur rati, postdoctoral fellow in the Losos lab, and Adam Aja, Assistant Curator of Collections at the Semitic Museum Over the past few decades, micro-CT scanners have become increasingly valuable for gathering detailed specimen data in a non-invasive manner. By combining this data with 3-D modeling techniques, researchers are able to visualize the skeletal structure and understand die functioning of creatures botii modern and ancient. In September 2012, the MCZ's new micro-CT scanner was installed in the Digital Imaging Facility in the MCZ Labs Building. Micro-CT is die standard technology for imaging and characterizing internal structures in three dimensions, giving researchers a powerful tool for answering a wide variety of questions in ways diey might not have imagined previously. The micro-CT scanner" produces a large number of X-ray images as die sample rotates 180°. These images are processed by proprietary software to create a digital 3-D reconstruction of the sample, which can then be analyzed and characterized in a variety of useful ways. Researchers will be able to analyze and characterize skeletal and other aspects of internal morphology easily, consistently and non-desu iictively. For MCZ specimens, the data can be represented in MCZbase, the Museum-wide database, so that users can view and manipulate it in their Web browsers. The full data sets will also be available to share with outside researchers and collaborators. Christopher Kenaley, postdoctoral fellow in the Lauder lab, explains the use of the technology in his research. Tve been working on both biorobotics and biomechanics projects that use data from the micro-CT," says Kenaley. 'The biorobotics woi k uses 3-D models of real lish to construct robotic fish heads thai represent the complexitv ol the skeletal structure. "
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