To undertake spine surgery it is important to understand its 3D-structure. Having or having access to 3D-models are very useful in understanding the 3D-structure of spine; particularly the bony anatomy. An alternative to models is 3D-Spine software. Best to have both both.
The main advantage of software is that it allows you to relate the bony anatomy to neural and vascular structures of the spine
Good 3D-spine anatomy software are now available for both desktop computers as well as tablet computers. Those that I am familiar with are those for MacOS and iOS.
The ‘Complete Anatomy 2018‘ is a full 3D-anatomy suite. It has an excellent capability for viewing and manipulating spine in the 3D; adding or subtracting vertebra, vessels and nerves and relating spine to surrounding structure including muscles and great vessels.
The ‘Complete Anatomy 2018’ is available for both Mac and iOS. They have to be bought individually. They are currently a one-off purchase (i.e. not subscription).
The software is very amazing capable. It is best to check out the video tutorials on this software which are available on the YouTube.
A dedicated spine software for iPad is ‘3D Spine‘. It works on an yearly subscription model. While it is excellent, should you have ‘Complete Anatomy 2018’, then there is little additional benefit from ‘3D Spine’.
There are other spine software available for iPad that would be useful to explain spinal conditions for patients. However, they are beyond the scope of this review,
