Expansion and Improvement of the Penn Cranial CT Database

University Of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia PA

Investigators

Abstract

A grant has been awarded to the University of Pennsylvania under the direction of Dr. Thomas Schoenemann for partial support of the expansion and improvement of the Penn Cranial CT Database, which consists of high-resolution, 3-dimensional (3D) computed tomography (CT) images. This grant will allow the database to expand from its current set of scans of human and non-human primate and fossil skulls taken from the skeletal collections at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology (UPMAA). Free online access to the scan database will be accomplished through the Museum's existing web-based archives and collections interface (http://www.museum.upenn.edu/mis/). When completed, the database will be fully searchable, and will include all the information known for each specimen, digital photographs of the specimens from the 6 major viewing angles, and the 3D CT images themselves. The Penn Cranial CT Database will improve the access and usefulness of the unique set of specimens housed at the UPMAA. The specimens are from all over the world, thus representing a broad range of human variation. The 3D CT images to be taken are essentially high-resolution 3D digital pictures, which will allow a dramatic increase in accessibility of the existing crania. The availability of 3D CT images for researchers worldwide is important for three reasons: 1) Recent computer software makes it possible to take almost any measurement directly from the CT scans themselves, which minimizes damage from repeated handling. 2) These images allow for the study of important structures inside the skulls that cannot be easily studied externally (for example, the surface of the braincase). 3) New software methods allow for powerful studies of complex geometry of the skull (for example, the creation of atlases describing in detail the variation across all specimens on a point-by-point basis). These CT images will therefore be invaluable not only for the understanding human variation and interpreting fossils, but also for research where detailed analysis of variation in shape of the skull is essential. The broader significance of this project includes the involvement of local students in the creation of an online virtual museum of 3D images of important fossils and skulls for teaching purposes, and a vastly more accessible and useable collection of skeletal material to interested researchers of all kinds. Student involvement will be in the form of special 'science scholarships' offered to local high school students (a large majority of whose students are from historically disadvantaged minority groups), who will not only assist in every aspect of the project, but will also formulate mini-research projects relating to the skeletal material and the associated CT images. These projects will introduce students to the basics of scientific research, and to the kinds of questions these. The online virtual museum will illustrate important features of human evolution, and will dovetail with the Museum's planned human evolution exhibit. Our goal is to allow the general public to compare important fossil specimens to the range of variation in modern apes and humans, thus highlighting the major trends in human evolution.