The use of digitalization techniques applied to paleontology is giving great results.
By using non invasive techniques, they allow the processing of great volumes of information of the fossil pieces and the manipulation of the materials without causing any alteration.
It is the use of these new more precise techniques and better systems of representation, which give better results.
Thus, obtaining three-dimensional models and the capacity to make simulations offers new perspectives on classic taxonomy and biomechanics. For this reason, the use of laser systems and computerized tomography are being emphasized as reference works at the ICP.
Three-dimensional models of the fossil allow observation of anatomical and histological cuts and also the possibility of creating virtual models in order to know areas of the fossil that were not originally preserved.
Another great potential for these kinds of techniques is based on the ability of making simulations and analyses. These allow the study of the biomechanical capacities of fossils by using engineering as methodologies; for example, the method of finite elements (FEM).
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The use of Computerized Tomography (CT) |
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This technique, which is commonly used in medical diagnosis, allows us to obtain very thin cuts of a piece and in this way the external morphology can be observed.
This technique is based on the nature of the paleontological material. The fossilization process causes the homogenization of the chemical and physical characteristics of the materials involved. 
This fact causes an additional difficulty in the extraction of the fossil that can be solved with techniques that differentiate between different densities levels.This is the case of Computerized Tomography (CT), which is a non-invasive form of exploration. This is due to the attenuation undergone by x-rays when passing through matter based on their density.
Tomography also allows us to obtain the external morphology and biometrical data of the fossil that they will be used to analyze surfaces or volumes of visible regions or inaccessible regions normally not obtainable by invasive techniques.
Even so, the resulting models can be used for studies of biomechanical character. They simulate the physical properties of the materials and, therefore, contribute to add information on the biomechanical capacities of the organism.
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Laser techniques offer the possibility of obtaining representations of the external morphology of the paleontological material. The technique is based on the capture of points (X, and, Z, with vectors) and geometries (points, polygonal meshes) by means of an integrated photogrammetric system in real time and a double wrap laser emitter, respectively.
Once the model is obtained it is possible to calculate properties like the surface and the traditional volume of the set or the areas of interest, as well as all biometrical data. |
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© 2011 - Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont