By Iltifat Husain, MD/MPH student, MS IV and Yousif Alkadhi, MD, PGY1

One of the toughest aspects of medicine is communicating medical conditions and procedures to patients who have limited medical knowledge through the use of only words. With clinic times becoming shortened, this communication is often under strain. The new 2.0 version of the Blausen Human Atlas application aims to help providers with this type of communication. This app allows medical professionals access to a vast library of 3D video animations and images that aid in explaining medical conditions to laypersons.

The Blausen Human Atlas, made by Blausen Medical Communications, and available in the App Store for $19.99, has been in the AppStore for a few months, but the new 2.0 version is a big update. In their description of the Human Atlas in the App Store they state that the recently released 2.0 version includes 150 3D animations, a medical glossary with over 1,500 terms, 1,200 detailed still images, 360 degree rotatable 3D human figures, and the ability to purchase additional smaller atlases. Of note, this is not a stand alone application and an Internet connection is required in order to access the medical glossary, images, and videos. In the following review, we'll go over a brief summary of how the app works and how applicable it is to healthcare settings using our own experiences with the application over the past few days.

The Human Atlas app has three basic features you can use for navigation: 3D human figure, medical glossary, and videos. These navigation pathways can be seen once the human atlas is selected.