BARCELONA, SPAIN – Recently, the University of Barcelona acquired an LPX-600 3D laser scanner for its Anthropology students. Under the Department of Animal Biology, the students have since applied this powerful tool to the development of an interesting project studying aspects of human anatomy.

According to Dr. Alejandro Pérez-Pérez, full professor for Physical Anthropology in charge of the LPX-600 project, the study is focused on locomotion and biomechanics. He said, “It is estimated that tendon and muscular problems in the shoulder affect more than 70 percent of the human population at one time or another. These issues could be related to the fact that we walk on two feet. To walk straight up impacts the superior extremity. By comparison, four-handed primates and other mammals rarely suffer shoulder disorders.”

Dr. Pérez-Pérez explained that the prevalence of shoulder issues in humans suggests that some aspect of the human anatomy is not very adapted to bipedism. The study calls for a three-dimensional analysis measuring surfaces and volumes of the articular sections of the shoulder blade and the humerus. The findings may reveal some of the causes behind human shoulder issues.

The project is underway in collaboration with Dr. J.M. Potau of the Department of Obstetrics-Gynecology, Pediatrics, Radiology and Anatomy at the University of Barcelona’s Faculty of Medicine.

Roland LPX-600 3D laser scanner

Dr. Alejandro Pérez-Pérez and Paul Nũnez in the office where samples are produced

The LPX-600 laser scanner will prove key to the study’s success. The LPX is scanning data from EZStudio software for analysis and exporting the data in STL and DXF file formats to other applications for further analysis. The scanning team obtained sample data from different time periods to create a historical comparison. The results will reveal new information about the evolution of the human anatomy.