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RemedyView AR - Materia Medica Visualizer

Innovative AR web app visualizing homoeopathic remedy keynotes on a live body view for interactive learning.

JavaScript TensorFlow.js MediaPipe AR PWA EdTech Homoeopathy Canvas API
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RemedyView AR - Materia Medica Visualizer main visual

Project Overview: RemedyView AR - Materia Medica Visualizer

RemedyView AR is an innovative web application designed to revolutionize the study of Homoeopathic Materia Medica. It leverages Augmented Reality (AR) to provide an interactive and engaging way for students, particularly those in their initial years of medical study, to visualize the sphere of action of various homoeopathic remedies directly onto a live human silhouette. By overlaying key symptoms from H.C. Allen's Keynotes onto corresponding body regions in real-time, RemedyView AR aims to break the ice and make the often challenging subject of Materia Medica more intuitive, memorable, and interesting.

The Challenge: Engaging Students with Materia Medica

Learning Homoeopathic Materia Medica, with its vast array of remedies and their nuanced symptom pictures, can be a daunting task for first and second-year medical students. Traditional text-based learning can sometimes feel abstract and disconnected from the human body. RemedyView AR addresses this by:

  • Transforming abstract text into visual experiences.
  • Providing an interactive alternative to passive reading.
  • Making complex remedy information more approachable and less intimidating.
  • Enhancing memory retention through active engagement and visualization.

Key Features & Functionality

  • Real-time AR Visualization: Utilizes the device camera and advanced pose detection (TensorFlow.js with MediaPipe BlazePose) to identify human body landmarks.
  • Symptom Overlay: Dynamically displays key symptoms from H.C. Allen's Keynotes as annotations on the corresponding body regions of the live camera feed.
  • Interactive Remedy Selection: Users can select from a curated list of prominent homoeopathic remedies (e.g., Aconite, Belladonna, Nux Vomica) to see their specific symptom profiles visualized.
  • Detailed Remedy Information: Alongside AR visualization, the app provides:
    • General information about the selected remedy (common name, family).
    • Keynote generalities and characteristic symptoms.
    • A categorized list of symptoms for quick reference.
  • User-Friendly Interface: Intuitive navigation, search functionality for remedies, and clear visual cues.
  • Cross-Platform Web App (PWA): Built as a Progressive Web App, making it accessible on any device with a modern browser and camera, and installable for an app-like experience.
  • Client-Side Processing: All pose detection and AR rendering occur directly in the user's browser, ensuring privacy as no camera feed is transmitted to a server.
  • Light/Dark Mode & Responsive Design: Adapts to user preferences and various screen sizes.

Technological Approach & Stack

RemedyView AR is built entirely with web technologies, prioritizing accessibility and client-side performance:

  • Core Logic & AR:
    • JavaScript (ES6+): For all application logic and interactivity.
    • TensorFlow.js: For running machine learning models in the browser.
    • MediaPipe BlazePose (via TensorFlow.js Pose Detection API): For accurate real-time human pose estimation.
    • HTML5 Canvas API: For rendering the AR overlays (symptom annotations and visual cues) on top of the camera feed.
  • User Interface (UI):
    • HTML5 & CSS3: For structuring and styling the application.
    • Vanilla JavaScript: For DOM manipulation and UI updates, keeping the application lightweight.
  • Data Management:
    • Remedy data (keynotes, symptoms, affected regions) is stored in client-side JavaScript objects.
  • PWA Features:
    • Service Worker: For caching assets and enabling basic offline capabilities.
    • Web App Manifest: For installability and defining app appearance.
  • Deployment & Analytics:
    • Static Site Hosting: Deployed as a static website for speed and simplicity.
    • Google Analytics (GA4): For tracking anonymous usage patterns to improve the application.

This project was developed without relying on heavy frontend frameworks like React or Angular, focusing on optimizing performance for real-time AR on a wide range of devices.

Impact & Vision

RemedyView AR stands as a pioneering tool in homoeopathic education. Its primary impact is to:

  • Enhance Learning Engagement: Make the study of Materia Medica more dynamic and less reliant on rote memorization.
  • Improve Understanding: Help students form a clearer mental picture of how remedies manifest in the human body.
  • Foster Curiosity: Encourage deeper exploration of remedies by making the initial learning process more appealing.
  • Provide an Accessible Tool: Being a web app, it's easily accessible to students without needing specialized software.

The vision for RemedyView AR is to expand its remedy database, incorporate more detailed anatomical references, and potentially add features like comparative Materia Medica visualizations, further solidifying its role as an indispensable aid for homoeopathic students and practitioners.

This project was co-conceptualized and developed with insights from Dr. Naveen Prasath B.