intended for serious developers and commercial partners rather than everyday consumers 4 A GROUNDBREAKING DEVICE The HoloLens is the world’s first self-contained holographic computer It is a circular headset that sits on top of the user’s head like a crown There are two clear lenses over the user’s eyes The device doesn’t need a separate computer smartphone or tablet to work The HoloLens is different from a virtual reality headset With a virtual reality headset the device blocks out the real world and the user is immersed in a completely different world The HoloLens is called a mixed-reality or augmented-reality headset because users can see both the holographic images and their real physical environment at the same time In essence holographic images are layered on top of a user’s surroundings For example a promotional video from Microsoft showed the HoloLens creating holograms of Minecraft environments on top of a kitchen table While wearing the HoloLens the user has access to Microsoft’s Edge web browser Skype video conferencing and a variety of other applications The applications 8
appear as floating windows before the user’s eyes Users of the HoloLens can resize and reposition the holographic images They can walk around the three-dimensional objects and look at the images from any angle TEACHING ANATOMY IN THREE DIMENSIONS Griswold a professor of radiology had been invited to a demonstration of the HoloLens at Microsoft’s top-secret testing facility in 2014 After trying out the HoloLens he realized this new technology could revolutionize the way medical students learn human anatomy Case Western Reserve University and the Cleveland Clinic were planning to build A REVIEW OF MICROSOFT’S HOLOLENS In 2016 Will Greenwald a senior analyst at PCMag tried out the HoloLens and wrote a review of the device Greenwald found the HoloLens surprisingly intuitive and fleshed out for development hardware He said the holograms were bright and clear and there was an interesting selection of software available on the device However he also found the HoloLens uncomfortable to wear for long periods and felt silly making gestures while using it He said the holograms appeared only in a small section of his vision Greenwald summarized that the HoloLens is a well executed and tempting look at how we might use computers years in the future 5 9 a state-of-the-art health sciences center and wanted to incorporate the latest technological advances Griswold
had been searching for a new way to use technology to teach students anatomy Traditionally medical students dissect cadavers to learn about the body but anatomy laboratories filled with cadavers are expensive to maintain and use harsh chemicals The HoloLens pointed to a better way Medical students could strap the devices onto their heads and view three-dimensional images of the human body’s organs and systems The technology allows students to walk around and examine the body’s parts from different angles For example when a student dons the HoloLens to see a holographic heart he or she can move parts of the heart in and out turn the heart around and see the blood pumping Satyam Ghodasara had already taken a traditional anatomy class at Case Western Reserve but it wasn’t until he saw a holographic heart using the HoloLens that he fully saw the aortic valve as separate from the other parts of the heart There’s the aortic valve he exclaimed Now I understand 6 In 2016 at Microsoft’s annual Build conference in San Francisco California a three-dimensional holographic image of Griswold’s head and hand appeared before 10
a packed auditorium Griswold himself was across the country in Cleveland Ohio Griswold’s holographic image guided the audience through an examination of the white matter tracts of the brain fibers that act as superhighways by allowing messages to travel from one part of the brain to another This is our new system Griswold said which allows me to teach and interact with you even though I’m not there This is really changing what it means to be in class 7 Case Western Reserve planned to open an anatomy lab designed with the help of the HoloLens and students will use a curriculum built around the HoloLens Griswold believes the potential uses of the HoloLens in education are limitless I don’t see a class on campus that won’t be affected by the technology he said 8 Griswold is confident that in time the HoloLens will be as common in students backpacks as laptops and smartphones THE HOLOANATOMY APP In partnership with Microsoft and the Cleveland Clinic Griswold led a team at Case Western Reserve that developed HoloAnatomy the first third-party app available for the HoloLens Medical students who previously learned human anatomy by dissecting cadavers tested the HoloAnatomy app Eighty-five percent of the more than three dozen students participating in the study said they learned something new with the HoloLens 9 11
