Applications of three-dimensional display techniques in medical imaging

This paper outlines some of the current uses of three-dimensional techniques in medical imaging applications and their potential for the future. As an example, three-dimensional imaging is described using a CT scanner, as it applies to a case involving craniofacial surgery. This includes defining the relationship between the requirements on the data acquisition system, as well as the specification of the hardware and software for the display. A currently used algorithm is described for the display of surfaces as a function of local position, orientation of the surface and the position of a virtual light source. This includes the use of transparency and cut plane greyscale techniques, in addition to the display of the surfaces. A speculation is made regarding the use of a three-dimensional display as the standard viewing mode in CT, with slice and multiplanar imaging as submodes.