WWW creates new interactive 3D graphics and colIaborative environments for medical research and education (original) (raw)

Scientific Visualization & Virtual Reality Visualization of Medical Datasets

2005

Goal of this assignment was to develop a full application that allows physicians to analyze and explore data from CT or MRI scanners. This data consist of scan slices of a patient that can be combined to form a 3D presentation of the insides of a patient. Traditionally, each slice was printed on transparent film and then analyzed separately, which means the physicians had to construct the 3D representation in their mind in order to form a diagnosis. The application we implemented in this assignment automatically constructs this 3D representation for the physician and thus allowing the physicians to effectively visualize and analyze this data, extracting additional information through the use of computer graphics.

A web-based virtual reality environment for medical visualization

2018 41st International Convention on Information and Communication Technology, Electronics and Microelectronics (MIPRO), 2018

In this paper, we present a novel approach to integrating virtual reality (VR) into a web-based medical visualization framework. The framework supports visualization of volumetric data, such as 3D scalar fields acquired by a CT, MRI or PET scanners. To improve users' perception, understanding and manipulation of 3D volumes, we adapted the traditional 2D screen representation with support for visualization of data in a VR environment. By providing complete visual immersion, VR can help users to gain better insights and understanding of the visualized data. Our main goal was to allow users to view the medical data in VR and interact with it with hand-held controllers for better immersion and spatial perception. In the paper, we present a novel approach to implementation of VR for medical imaging, which combines WebGL-based hardware accelerated web visualization with VR. This allows users to use the visualization framework with or without a VR headset by switching between "standard" and "VR" modes. Since visualization runs in a web browser, it is portable, easy to use on different devices and therefore accessible to a broad number of users. The visualization system was tested with real medical scans to assess its performance and usability.

Volume 2, Number 2. 3D Virtual Worlds for Health and Healthcare

Virtual Worlds such as Second Life provide unique opportunities to simulate real life scenarios and immerse the user in an environment that can be tailored to meet specific educational requirements. In these Immersive Learning Environments, students and faculty can interact from anywhere in the real world. From a general education perspective, they allow for virtual classrooms, virtual libraries, interactive role-playing, remote seminars, etc. From a medical education and science perspective, Immersive Learning Environments such as Second Life can be used to model doctor-patient interaction, clinical diagnosis skills, and three dimensional objects ranging from individual molecules and cells to whole organ systems, both healthy and diseased.

High performance 3D visualization on the Web: a biomedical case study

2013

There are many desktop-based applications that oer a so- lution for biomedical problems. Usually, one of the most important task of these biomedical applications is the 3D graphics visualization. In last years, the development of web-based applications has taken a great im- portance and are defeating desktop-based applications, mainly, because the benets this class of software has. However, until recent times, web developers were not able to directly run high performance graphics na- tively on a web context. But nowadays, the appearance of the Khronos WebGL standard make that limitation possible. This work summarizes the WebGL capabilities and presents a successful experience related to the inclusion of high performance graphics on the web. This is done by developing an interactive visualization of voxelized 3D models with the aim of analysing magnetic resonance images of the brain.

Web visualization of 3D medical data with open source software

2012

Every day more applications migrate from off-line systems to web applications available worldwide. Many of these applications require displaying 3D data and allowing user interaction with them. Websockets provides the basis to develop these applications over the web, to run on any platform. This paper proposes four software architectures for developing web applications for 3D data visualization based on current open source websockets technology. One of these architectures is implemented and described in detail. Test and results for 3D meshes and volumes are presented and discussed. The system can be used to display medical datasets and medical models on real-time over the web, potentially contributing to the Telemedicine area

Principles and Applications of Medical Virtual Environments

The medical domain offers many excellent opportunities for the application of computer graphics, visualization, and virtual environments, offering the potential to help improve healthcare and bring benefits to patients. This report provides a comprehensive overview of the state-of-the-art in this exciting field. It has been written from the perspective of both computer scientists and practicing clinicians and documents past and current successes together with the challenges that lie ahead. The report begins with a description of the commonly used imaging modalities and then details the software algorithms and hardware that allows visualization of and interaction with this data. Example applications from research projects and commercially available products are listed, including educational tools; diagnostic aids; virtual endoscopy; planning aids; guidance aids; skills training; computer augmented reality; and robotics. The final section of the report summarises the current issues an...

3D objects visualization for remote interactive medical applications

Proceedings. First International Symposium on 3D Data Processing Visualization and Transmission

3D medical images produced in health centers represent tremendous amounts of data spread over different places. Automatic processing of these data often allow quantitative and repeatable measurements on large databases that are valuable for diagnosis and pathology studies. Grid technologies offer large and distributed computing power suited to medical images analysis. However, the need for human control prevent complete off-line execution of some algorithms. Interactive programs with user supervision are made difficult on a grid architecture due to the remote program execution. In this paper we propose a new framework for interactive execution of remote applications dealing with large 3D medical data sets. Our solution is both efficient and easy to use from the user point of view. It can adapt to almost any medical application requirements. The formal architecture is presented and a prototype is demonstrated.

Virtual 3D Atlas of a Human Body – Development of an Educational Medical Software Application

Procedia Computer Science, 2013

This paper presents a process of building a prototype of an educational application for teaching anatomy with elements of physiology, with use of a Virtual Reality environment. Preparation of mesh models of individual human organs is described, along with further visualization techniques, which were used to ensure a proper level of a visual representation. Stages of user interface preparation are also described-both visual and functional aspects covered-with a detailed review of a visual programming process, which was used to obtain a logical structure of connections inside the VR environment. Process of preparation of dynamic graphical data-namely animation of the pulmonary alveoli-and integration it with the virtual environment is also presented. The final application can be used in a number of ways, including large-screen stereoscopic projection with onscreen graphical user interface and single-user immersive stereoscopic projection using a head-mounted device with an optical tracking system. Results of assessment of the application advantages and disadvantages at the current stage of development allowed to formulate several directions of further advancement.

Chapter 12: Medical 3D Graphics With eXtensible 3D

Recent Advances in 3D Imaging, Modeling, and Reconstruction, 2020

As the healthcare enterprise is adopting novel imaging and health-assessment technologies, we are facing unprecedented requirements in information sharing, patient empowerment, and care coordination within the system. Medical experts not only within US, but around the world should be empowered through collaboration capabilities on 3D data to enable solutions for complex medical problems that will save lives. The fast-growing number of 3D medical 'images' and their derivative information must be shared across the healthcare enterprise among stakeholders with vastly different perspectives and different needs. The demand for 3D data visualization is driving the need for increased accessibility and sharing of 3D medical image presentations, including their annotations and their animations. As patients have to make decisions about their health, empowering them with the right tools to understand a medical procedure is essential both in the decision-making process and for knowledge sharing.