Asclepius Software

Eight modules, one dissection table

Six software packages run on the Asclepius table — Anatomy, Animal Anatomy, Embryology, Histopathology Atlas, Radiology and CTRender — and two more come with it: an online examination platform and a Windows companion app. This page goes through what is inside each one.

Module 01 — Anatomy

A next-generation platform for digital human dissection

The core package, and the reason most institutions buy the table. One of the most comprehensive digital anatomical libraries available today: every organ, vessel, nerve and system modelled and labelled individually, on bodies a class can take apart as many times as it needs to.

  • 5,000+ physiological structures — meticulously modelled and labelled, each one separable from the layers around it
  • 6 full-body cadaver models — male and female bodies from diverse ethnic backgrounds, so anatomical variation across populations can be taught rather than assumed
  • 912 regional anatomy modules — categorised for targeted teaching, from head and neck through the limbs to the internal organs
  • 75 real cadaver image comparisons — each structure paired with a photograph of the real specimen, so the digital model can be checked against the thing itself
  • 5 endoscopic simulations — the digestive, respiratory and reproductive systems explored with interactive 3D endoscopes, alongside reference video from real procedures
Six full-body Asclepius models standing side by side — three male and
                  three female, of different ethnicities — each shown half with skin and
                  half dissected to the muscular, vascular and lymphatic layers.
912 Regional Anatomy Modules
75 Real Cadaver Comparisons
6 Full-Body Models

Teaching tools built around the model

The library is only half of it. Everything below is a tool an instructor uses live, in front of a group, without consuming anything that has to be replaced afterwards.

  • Layer-by-layer dissection and free cutting — draw any cutting path you like, from a single organ to a full-body section, and examine how the systems sit against each other
  • Sectional anatomy from real frozen slices — coronal, sagittal and transverse planes built from actual cross-sectional body slices
  • Interactive labelling — tap any structure for its name and description, isolate it, or hide everything around it
  • Virtual endoscope — travel the large intestine, digestive tract, respiratory system and vaginal canal, each with real endoscopic video for reference
  • Animated tutorials and physiological simulation — annotated heart models with a realistic heartbeat and section views, with more animated content added over time
  • Brush tool for educators — draw, mark and write over the model during a lecture, then save the screenshot to USB for the next class
An Asclepius full-body model being dissected in a loop — the skin
                  lifts away to the muscular layer, then the vessels and organs, then the
                  skeleton.

Module 02 — Animal Anatomy

Forty species, dissected the same way as the human models

Comparative anatomy without a specimen. Over forty animals are modelled in 3D to the same standard as the human bodies, so veterinary, biology and zoology programmes can dissect repeatedly, safely and without a supply chain.

  • Over 40 animal species — detailed 3D models spanning mammals, reptiles, birds and fish, so structures can be compared across species
  • Every structure is interactive — click an organ, system or tissue for its name and a full explanation of what it does and where it sits
  • Unlimited layered dissection — work through a body layer by layer at your own pace, internal and external, as often as the class needs
  • Custom models on request — if a programme needs a species or a level of detail that is not in the library, Surglasses will build it

Ask about a custom species

A grid of animal head renders — among them a chicken, cheetah, cat,
                  bull, giraffe, frog, fox, carp, pigeon, pig, panda, macaque, zebra, tiger
                  and buffalo — beside a dissected frog showing its musculature and
                  vasculature.

Module 03 — Embryology

The whole journey from conception to birth, in 3D

An interactive study of human development that a textbook cannot match: the embryo and fetus modelled at every stage, the pregnant body around it, and the abnormalities that a clinician will eventually have to recognise.

  • Carnegie stages 7, 9 and 11, then week 5 to week 42 — a detailed model for every week of gestation, from early neural development to the final stages before birth
  • Pregnant female anatomy — the anatomical changes of pregnancy, plus a simulation of the blood exchange between mother and embryo and the function of the placenta
  • 100+ embryonic abnormality case studies — genetic conditions, birth defects and developmental disorders, each with an explanation and a visual simulation
  • Unlimited layered dissection — every anatomical and physiological structure of both the embryo and the pregnant woman, taken apart layer by layer

Embryology is one of the two optional packages. It is included as standard on the Asclepius AI Table.

The embryonic abnormality browser open on the Brain category — choroid
                  plexus cysts, corpus callosum agenesis, Dandy-Walker malformation and others
                  — with the prevalence, ultrasound diagnosis and associated
                  abnormalities of choroid plexus cysts shown beside a fetal model.

Week by week, in the round

Each week of gestation is a model in its own right, not a plate on a page — so the change from one week to the next can be shown from any angle.

Blood exchange, simulated

The circulation between mother and embryo running in place, so placental function can be taught as a process rather than described as one.

Cut anywhere, peel anything

The same free cutting and layer removal as the anatomy package, applied to the embryo and to the body carrying it.

Module 04 — Histopathology Atlas

A thousand digital slides, sharp down to the cell

A digital histology and pathology slide viewer built into the table. Instead of one student at a microscope, the whole group looks at the same slide at once — and the slide never degrades, gets misplaced or has to be re-cut.

  • 1,000+ histology and pathology slides — a library covering the range of human tissue types and pathological conditions, each one digitised to preserve microscopic accuracy
  • Ultra high-resolution imaging — an average of 10,000 × 10,000 pixels per slide, so magnifying costs no clarity
  • Expert annotations — every slide carries a written description of the key features to identify and what they mean
  • Zoom to any magnification — in and out instantly, under the viewer's control rather than the objective turret's
  • Image adjustment tools — brightness, contrast and sharpness, to bring out the structure being taught
  • Import your own slides — teachers can load their own virtual slide files, so departmental material sits alongside the built-in library
Twelve stained tissue slides laid out as a grid of stacked cards —
                  cartilage, lymphoid tissue, glandular epithelium, nerve and vessel sections
                  among them — each one a separate entry in the slide library.

Module 05 — Radiology

Real clinical imaging, from DICOM to a 3D object

Asclepius Radiology puts a library of real clinical studies in front of students, with the tools to segment them, measure them, turn them into three-dimensional objects and plan an operation on them — the same workflow a clinician uses, scaled for a classroom.

  • 1,200+ real clinical DICOM CT/MRI cases — selected for range and image quality, so the examples in front of a class are the ones they will meet in practice
  • Semi-automatic bone segmentation — extract precise anatomical regions out of complex CT and MRI data without tracing every slice
  • 3D image to 3D model in seconds — and an export in a format suitable for 3D printing, so the study can leave the screen
  • Pre-surgical planning simulation — customised bone plates and screws, spinal puncture and dental implant procedures, planned before they are performed
  • Advanced measurement tools — measure and analyse the anatomical structures in a study, which is where diagnostic judgement actually gets built
  • Load your own DICOM data — teach from your own hospital's cases, and integrate with PACS
A CT study of the pelvis reconstructed in Asclepius Radiology, each bone
                  segmented in its own colour, with the axial, coronal and sagittal DICOM
                  views alongside.
An ankle and foot CT segmented bone by bone, each tarsal and metatarsal
                    rendered in a different colour.

Segment the bone, not the noise

Semi-automatic segmentation pulls each bone out of the study as its own region, so a complex joint can be taken apart and rebuilt.

A reconstructed pelvis with two curved orange bone plates and their screws
                    positioned across the pubic rami in the planning software.

Plan the plate before the operation

Customised bone plates and screws are shaped against the patient's own anatomy, as an exercise students can work through and compare.

A spine and pelvis reconstruction with a region list down the left side and
                    the DICOM slice views on the right.

A library of real studies

Over 1,200 clinical CT and MRI cases are on the table already, and a department can load its own alongside them.

Module 06 — CTRender

Turn a CT study into something the class can turn over

CTRender takes DICOM CT and MRI data and renders it into a vivid, interactive 3D volume. Where Radiology is about analysis and planning, CTRender is about seeing — what the tissue looks like, where it sits, and how a slice relates to the body it came from.

  • Preset rendering modes — soft tissue (muscle, fat, vessels) and hard tissue (bone, joints) separated by colour and texture, with every parameter open to tuning
  • Transparency, contrast and colour layers — bring one structure forward and let the rest fall back, without leaving the volume
  • Multi-axial dissection and slicing — section the volume in real time along any plane, or cut through it on the standard axial, coronal and sagittal axes
  • CT and 3D side by side — compare a slice with its rendering, next to each other or superimposed, and switch between the 2D radiological view and the 3D anatomical one
A whole-body CT volume rendered in soft-tissue mode, the skin and muscle
                  translucent enough to show the skeleton and joints through it.

Module 07 — Online Examination

Set the test, mark it automatically, see who is struggling

The online examination platform is included with the Asclepius table at no extra cost. Instructors build assessments that match what they actually taught; students get their result the moment they finish; and the department gets a record of how the cohort is doing.

  • A question bank for nursing and healthcare examinations — drawn from the professional licensure examinations of several countries, covering a broad range of topics and practical scenarios
  • Customisable exam content — set the topics, the difficulty and the time limit so the assessment matches the curriculum rather than the other way round
  • Real-time grading and feedback — students see where they went wrong straight away, while the question is still fresh
  • Assessment by subject and module — anatomy, physiology or clinical skills, assigned alongside the course it belongs to
  • Grouping and scheduling — organise students by where they are in the programme and give each group the assessment that fits
  • Detailed progress reports — monitor a cohort, spot the trend rather than the individual mark, and adjust teaching accordingly

Separate sign-in for teachers and students. Students register by email, instructors approve them and release the questions with a time limit, and both sides see the result as soon as it is submitted.

The student view of an Asclepius examination: a multiple-choice question,
                  a countdown timer, the student's details and a question navigator along the
                  bottom.
The exam category picker open on a long list of nursing subjects, from
                    fundamentals of nursing through medical and surgical nursing.

Assessments by subject

Exams are created against a named subject area, so a test can be pointed at exactly the part of the course that needs checking.

The teacher's exam list showing several exams with their date, duration
                    and question count, and the controls to add, edit and publish one.

Build a quiz mid-lecture

An exam can be assembled, published and collected inside one class, with every student's score gathered automatically.

The question editor with a written question, its answer options and the
                    marking settings.

Write your own questions

Departmental questions sit alongside the supplied bank, so an institution's own material is not a separate system to maintain.

The table itself also carries a built-in offline examination system with its own question bank and several question formats, so students can test themselves at the table with no internet connection at all.

Module 08 — Windows App

Asclepius Anatomy Online — the same anatomy on a Windows PC

Available with the purchase of an Asclepius table, the Windows app gives educators and students a simple, interactive way to teach and explore human anatomy away from the table itself — in a seminar room, a library, or at home the night before the lab.

  • Comprehensive human anatomy — the full anatomical structures with their physiological terms, explanations and context
  • Layered anatomy systems — work outwards from bone through muscle, the circulatory system and the rest, one layer at a time
  • Regional anatomy — study one area of the body in depth rather than the whole thing at once
  • A fully interactive dissection — the same digital dissection experience as the table, on a desktop screen

The Windows app is available exclusively to institutions that own an Asclepius table. It is optional and is purchased separately.

See the software running

Bring us the course, we will show you the modules

Tell us what you teach and to whom, and we will run through the packages that actually matter for it — which are included, which are optional, and what a session on the table looks like for your students.