Computer systems for three-dimensional diagnostic imaging: an examination of the state of the art

This survey reviews three-dimensional (3D) medical imaging machines and 3D medical imaging operations. The survey is designed to provide a snapshot overview of the present state of computer architectures for 3D medical imaging. The basic volume manipulation, object segmentation, and graphics operations required of a 3D medical imaging machine are described and sample algorithms are presented. The architecture and 3D imaging algorithms employed in 11 machines which render medical images are assessed. The performance of the machines is compared across several dimensions, including image resolution, elapsed time to form an image, imaging algorithms employed in the machine, and the degree of parallelism employed in the architecture. The innovation in each machine, whether architectural or algorithmic, is described in detail. General trends for future developments in this field are delineated and an extensive bibliography is provided.