The first medical application to utilize stereo viewing was in teaching anatomy. Professors teaching anatomy at the University of Edinburgh in the 1880’s employed stereo photographs taken of cadavers in the classroom. Medical students could gain a better understanding of the spatial arrangement of various parts of the bodyorgans by looking at a 3D view.

Today, medical imaging has become much higher resolution and qualitymore sophisticated, as well as more complex. Several acquisition modalities provide volumetric image data that are currently not optimally presented and viewed in stereo 3D. Volume rendering software that is used to view can be used with Computed Tomography (CT) and, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), PET (Positron Emission Tomography (PET) and Ultrasound (US) MR 3D data has been modified to support images to allow stereo 3D viewing so that radiologist physicans can make a quicker and more accurate diagnosisassessment. Surgeons can plan a procedure, collaborate with colleagues and consult a patient using a stereo monitor.

Another promising use of stereo 3D viewing is for minimally invasive surgery (MIS). Here visualization of procedure is accomplished using output from a video system in part placed inside the body of the patient. Stereo 3D viewing gives the surgeon a more realistic presentation and can allow more efficient hand-eye coordination. If the operation is minimally invasive, stereo cameras can be used to gain a better feel for depth and position for making critical movements.

Stereo 3D photography of the retina has a long history in diagnosis of eye diseases such as is also used in diabetic retinopathy and glaucoma. to look for hemorrhaging within the eye. A stereoscopic view can significantly reduce the noise within a medical image.

Related Partners

• Medical Imaging Software

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