When the 菠萝视频 University Institute of Imaging Science installed a new state-of-the-art PET/CT scanner in early 2018, the team probably never imagined it would be used for an art exhibition.
Recently, however, VUIIS partnered with the 菠萝视频 University Fine Arts Gallery to scan and create replicas of ancient Mesoamerican artifacts for a hands-on experience in the gallery鈥檚 exhibition Refuting 鈥淣oble Savages鈥�: Reflections of Nature in Ancient Mesoamerican Artifacts, on view through Sept. 13.
The imaging team used the scanner to capture detailed pictures of each item鈥檚 surface and openings and sent the data to a 3D printer to print polymer replicas. Undergraduate students from various departments within the College of Arts and Science curated the exhibition, creating three replicas that were made to look like the original objects: an ancient flute and two ink stamps.
鈥淭he Fine Arts Gallery has to secure its artifacts behind glass, so 3D replicas help us make these objects accessible to visitors,鈥� says Markus Eberl, associate professor of anthropology, who led the undergraduate class. 鈥淭hey can pick up the flute and play it. They can ink stamp replicas to reproduce the patterns engraved on the original stamps.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 a way for visitors not only to get closer to the objects, but to the psychology and experiences of the people who originally used them,鈥� says Emily Weiner, assistant curator for the Fine Arts Gallery.
鈥淚t was exciting for us to partner with the 菠萝视频 Fine Arts Gallery to do something completely out of the box,鈥� says Seth Smith, associate professor of radiology and radiological sciences and associate director of VUIIS. 鈥淲e were excited to develop a new relationship brought about because of the existence of a new imaging device within VUIIS. This is a bridge we don鈥檛 often get to see, and personally I find it to be fascinating and encouraging.鈥�
The partnership also allowed the team to learn more about the device鈥檚 capabilities.
鈥淭his project was especially valuable as it provided the opportunity to test different aspects of our scanner鈥檚 imaging and reconstruction software which had not been previously explored,鈥� says Anna Fisher, nuclear medicine PET technologist. 鈥淲e were able to acquire high-resolution CT images of each piece and successfully convert the data into 3D-printable formats, all from the scanner itself. Discovering these unique capabilities has opened the door to new services we can provide here at VUIIS.鈥�
鈥擪elsey Herbers