• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, May 10, 2011

Healthline Networks, along with GE healthymagination, which supports a $6 billion commitment to bring better health to more people, will roll out an interactive search tool Tuesday that allows consumers to navigate the male and the female anatomy, view systems and organs and explore how the body works.

Healthline BodyMaps, the 3D visual search tool for consumers, can be found at Healthline.com. It includes the Medically Guided search tool, along with links, support videos, animations and wellness guides.

Ads will support the platform, and social-media tools will enable consumers to share any BodyMaps view or content. The site will offer mobile and tablet applications, predictive views of what happens to the body based on human behavior, diseases and specific conditions, including topics like how the body changes during pregnancy, how cancer tumors grow, and what happens as the body ages.

Healthline and GE healthymagination created BodyMaps in partnership with Visible Productions, the company that produced the 3D modeling, graphics. It offers similar detailed medical images featured on "The Dr. Oz Show," "ABC World News with Diane Sawyer" and "Good Morning America."

The search features 964 views of the body. It relies on Healthline's Medically Guided search platform, supporting 3D modeling of human anatomy. Consumers can rotate the view, as well as search body systems, organs and detailed cross-sections for information. They can also watch animations of functions down to the molecular level.

Thousands of anatomical and clinical terms have been simplified to provide easy to-understand synonyms, such as "knee cap" in place of "patella" or "tail bone" in place of "coccyx," according to Healthline.

Targeted content aims to help consumers learn how to remain healthy. For example, the coronary artery page features information on high cholesterol, related heart conditions, recommended cardiovascular exercise and heart-healthy recipes.

Healthline and GE are not the only companies attempting to support consumers through search tools and 3D modeling of the human body. Google Body launched in Labs last December. The application relies on WebGL, a new standard for 3D Web modeling. The platform allows consumers to peel back anatomical layers, zoom in, and navigate to parts of interest. Viewers can click to identify parts of the anatomy, or search for muscles, organs, and bones.