Innovative Methodology for the 3D Reconstruction of Body Geometries using Open-source Software

Bioengineering teaching has limitations in developing countries due to the inaccessibility of expensive technology like scanners and commercial software, which holds back progress in the biomedical area because of a lack of resources. In this work, a new methodology is presented with the aim of obtaining a 3D model of body part by open-source software: Meshrootn (R). Meshmixer (R), Ultimaker Cura (R); and a cell phone camera. The procedure is based on three methods which were tested: images taken for a short time, burst mode and video-to-frames. Through the process of reverse engineering photogrammetry, an arm and a foot were obtained from images and for comparing the model with the real body part, 3D printing was used. The outstanding method is video-to-frames thanks to the high quality of the generated models and the shortest reconstruction time it presents. The technique developed can promote the education of engineers in the biomedical area, also providing an advance for developers with low economic resources, allowing them to have a new possibility of research.