108 - NIH 3D: An Online Hub for Creating and Sharing Open 3D Models for Science and Education

Poster Board Number: 108
There are separate poster presentation times for odd and even posters.
Odd poster #s – first hour
Even poster #s – second hour

Co-authors:

Meghan McCarthy - Bioinformatics and Computational Biosciences Branch, Office of Cyber Infrastructure and Computational Biology, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA; Phillip Cruz - Bioinformatics and Computational Biosciences Branch, Office of Cyber Infrastructure and Computational Biology, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA; David Liou - Bioinformatics and Computational Biosciences Branch, Office of Cyber Infrastructure and Computational Biology, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA; Darrell Hurt - Bioinformatics and Computational Biosciences Branch, Office of Cyber Infrastructure and Computational Biology, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA

Abstract Body :
Introduction & Objective: 3D models in anatomy education provide an immersive understanding of the human body, surpassing the limitations of 2D images. Integrating these digital models into educational materials can prove challenging, as anatomical model creation demands expertise or costly commercial licenses, hindering educators with limited budgets. To address these issues, we present NIH 3D, an open-science platform designed to overcome barriers to model creation and sharing.Materials and Methods: NIH 3D, launched in March 2023, is a comprehensive rebuild of the NIH 3D Print Exchange, utilizing Terraform, PostgreSQL, Fargate/ECS, EC2, OpenAPI, TypeScript, Nuxt with Vue, and Python. Model processing involves Trimesh, Pymeshlab, UCSF ChimeraX, Visualization Toolkit (VTK), and Babylon.js for a 3D viewer. Workflows accept diverse file formats, ensuring flexibility in model creation.Results: Since launch, NIH 3D (3d.nih.gov) has migrated 14943 entries, spanning biomacromolecules, viruses, cells, anatomy, prosthetics, and hardware. By October 2023, it garnered over 900 users and 600 new entries, with a daily visitor count averaging 500. The submission process includes quick submission for PubChem, EMDB, or PDB accession numbers, various file uploads, and DICOM files for bone models. Models, licensed under open licenses (such as Creative Commons), are assigned a unique 3DPX identification number, with users able to request a DOI for persistent citability.Conclusion: NIH 3D replaces the 3D Print Exchange, serving as an open archive for 3D models. The platform successfully reduces barriers to creation and sharing, offering unique content and community. Positive feedback and growing site traffic indicate its success, with potential for further expansion.Significance/Impact: NIH 3D elevates learning experiences, democratizes access to education and research, and fosters collaboration. The platform's open-science principles empower diverse contributors, providing a valuable resource for scientific understanding and innovation. NIH 3D stands as a testament to transparent and collaborative research tools and data sharing, offering a platform for continuous growth and impact in the scientific community.