Diagnostic Investigation

3D full-body scanner in Munich University Hospital

18.10.2021

Imaging procedures are not new in medicine. But a three-dimensional model of the body, made from images from 92 cameras, does. Some doctors have high hopes for it, others are skeptical.

Until now, anyone who got a new breast design had to hope that their surgeon would have a good sense of proportion. Even those who had excess fat suctioned off from their thighs could never be entirely sure of the result. That is about to change: In the Munich University Clinic, plastic surgeons will be supported by Germany’s first 3D full-body scanner. Doctors are hoping for a lot from this - not only in cosmetic surgery of all kinds, but also in the fight against skin cancer.

"A complete picture of the body surface is made with a single image, not only of the skin itself, with its lesions and birthmarks, but also of the body volume," explained Riccardo Giunta, Director of Plastic Surgery at the University Clinic. "We can use it to make a 3D model of the face, the chest, the abdomen and also the whole body, and that plays a role in every type of body-shaping procedure in plastic surgery."

Breast reconstructions, for example after cancer-related amputations, are one example. "Up to now, you had to rely on a sense of proportion and a few readings from the tape measure, but this way you actually have an exact volume measurement with a relatively simple procedure," explained Giunta. Thanks to the new technology, the doctors know exactly how much body fat they need for the new breast and how it has to be shaped so that it looks symmetrical afterwards.

The President of the German Society of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons, Lukas Prantl from the Regensburg University Hospital, is therefore quite impressed with the new scanner, of which around ten copies are in use worldwide: "This imaging is very important, it is really a topic of the future. In the next few years, in combination with artificial intelligence, there will be a lot to come, which will make many work steps easier for us. "

Research has been working for a long time on how patients can be optimally captured visually, on the one hand to plan therapies better and, on the other hand, to be able to objectively measure the success afterwards. This is particularly important in plastic surgery with its direct effect on the patient's appearance. "The scanner in Munich is certainly the one that is very new and is also way ahead in terms of what it can do," said Prantl. At the same time, however, with a view to the development in this segment, he restricted: "What we cannot yet fully weigh up is which product is ultimately the best for patients and us doctors and which will prevail."

Surgeons are already working with cameras and three-dimensional models and simulations. According to Prantl, the advantage of the new acquisition of the Munich-based WB360, which costs 250,000 euros, is the objectivity: The patient stands between two futuristically curved structures that are reminiscent of the interior design of spaceships in science fiction films. Hidden in it are 92 high-resolution HD cameras, the recordings of which are added up by the software to form a three-dimensional image of the patient.

"This is certainly a novelty in the complexity of the image," said Konstantin Nikolaou, science coordinator of the German X-ray Society. The detailed recording of the surface of the body, which makes the smallest changes visible, can be used in many ways in medicine.

Nikolaou is convinced: "You will see different categories of this 3D technology, with different applications. This is a broad playground." For example, 3D scanners in radiology could significantly reduce the radiation exposure for both patients and medical staff through a camera-checked and thus extremely precise positioning in the room.

Giunta, who has been working with the new scanner in Munich since September, sees above all dermatology as a beneficiary of the technology. "With the software it is possible to check the entire skin lesions with regard to color irregularities or irregularities of the edge, ie risk factors for malignancy." In contrast to the usual documentation methods, each individual birthmark can be clearly assigned to a specific location on the body - "like on a kind of map".

Nevertheless, the presidium member of the German Dermatological Society, Peter Elsner from the Jena University Hospital, is still skeptical. "Not every new device or procedure is sensible and safe for patients." Scientific studies should now show whether the 3D full-body scanner actually enables an improvement in the early diagnosis of skin cancer. According to the findings of the scientists, however, such has not yet been available. "Until then, a reliable assessment of the potential of the device will not be possible.