Best practices for using 3D models in presentations

If you are a teacher, health care provider, or any type of educator, you may want to use 3D models  to guide learners through complex medical concepts in one of the following presentation settings:

• Lectures
• Trainings
• Conferences
• Trade shows
• Patient consultations/telemedicine

Whether you are presenting remotely or in person, there are a few best practices for using 3D models effectively in live or recorded presentations:

1. Highlight key structures by clicking or double-clicking.
2. Zoom in on key structures with "long press."
3. Emphasize key structures and deemphasize others on the spot.
4. Emphasize key structures and deemphasize others in advance.
5. Recenter the model if you have zoomed in or rotated too far.
6. Reset the model to its original state after you have hidden or faded structures.
7. Use the Draw tool to draw on the model.

1. Highlight key structures by clicking or double-clicking.

Click once on an anatomical structure to highlight it and draw the user's attention to it. Double-click on a structure to "fly to" it, or zoom in on it and center it on the screen.

Single click

Double click

2. Zoom in on key structures with "long press." 

Our long press function enables you to "fly to" structures of interest (see above) without highlighting them in yellow, and it also results in a smoother zooming motion. To trigger a long press, hover over the structure you want to zoom in on, and then click and hold your mouse button down until it flies to that structure.

3. Emphasize key structures and deemphasize others on the spot.

Select the Hide and/or Fade options in  Explore Tools  and then click on a structure to remove it from view or make it transparent so you can see underlying structures, respectively. 

Alternatively, you can use the advanced actions menu available within the  Search tool or the pop-up label associated with each structure to hide or fade individual structures or groups of structures.

• Advanced actions menu: Right-click on the structure you want to modify and select Hide, Isolate, or Fade in the advanced actions menu. Within Fade, you can select Fade This or Fade Everything Else. Another way to open the advanced actions menu is to click on the structure and click the more options   button in the structure's pop-up label.

• Search: Open Search  from the toolbar, find the structure or group in the anatomy tree, click more options  next to it, and then select Hide, Isolate or Fade. Within Fade, you can select Fade This or Fade Everything Else.

4. Emphasize key structures and deemphasize others in advance. 

Let your tour do the work for you. Instead of using the Explore Tools as described above to emphasize or deemphasize structures on the fly, prepare these custom views in additional chapters in your tour in advance. This way you can simply skip to the relevant chapter and can focus on speaking instead of playing around with the tools.

Learn more about how to create and save customized views of your model in Customize 3D models in Human Studio.

5. Recenter the model if you have zoomed in or rotated too far.

To return to your starting position after zooming or rotating, click Recenter 3D model in the 3D controls toolbar in the lower-right corner.

6. Reset the model to its original state after you have hidden or faded structures.

When you hide or fade structures, an Undo/Redo/Reset toolbar will appear at the top of the 3D scene. Click Reset to return the model to its original state.

7. Use the Draw tool to draw on the model.

When you open the Draw tool, the 3D model is converted into a 2D image, and you can use your mouse or trackpad (web) or finger (mobile) to draw anywhere on the image to point out key structures, shapes, relationships, or processes. You can also annotate the image with the text utility. To open the Draw tool, open the Menu in the lower-right corner of the Viewer and select Draw.

Learn more about how to use the Draw tool in Publish a 3D model: Display options.