Guest Editors’ Introduction
s in Michael L. Rhodes ToshibaAmerica M R l
Douglas D. Robertson Washington University School of Medicine
his theme issue ofIEEE Computer Graphics and Applications examines computer graphics in medicine and its integration with surgical procedures. Together with the January issue of Computer, this issue of CG&A introduces exciting, innovative uses o f computer graphics in medicine and demonstrates how visualization technology is reaching the surgery room. Since the first digital images were produced from computed tomography (CT) scanners in the mid 1970s, applications o f computer graphics in medicine have expanded dramatically. Before CT, the computational power and image display hardware necessary for modest computer graphics were expensive and exotic, particularly for medical applications. This changed seemingly overnight as CT scanners proliferated in the medical community. The standard configuration of every CT scanner included what was needed to become a graphics workstation. The allure of blending graphics and health care exerted a powerful attraction on every computer graphics scientistwith access to this new and exciting machine. The attraction is still potent today. Since the 1970s medical computer graphics has expanded from using CT data (the first inherentlydigital source of 3D medical data) to using data from magnetic resonance scanners, digital ultrasound, positron emission scanners, and other medical imaging modalities. We’ve advanced from rendering anatomy to aid diagnosisand visualize complicated anatomic muctures to planning surgery and-what this special issue is all about-to assisting surgery directly. Our applications have entered the surgeryroom as real-time assistants to surgeons. New, more accurate and cost-effectivesurgical procedures have become possible by integrating computer graphics technology with medical images. Interventional imaging, image-guided surgery, and stereotactic and visualization techniques are now streaming into surgical practice. Though our collaboration with the medical community has been historically and primarily with radiologists, surgeons have also joined the team. The user communiry for medical computer graphics now includes
28
January 1996
many other medical disciplines also. These other groups are often independent of radiologists, whose pioneering efforts have guided computer graphics to the other medical specialties. For example, a recently inaugurated publication, the Journal of Image Guided Surgery, is run primarily by surgeons and covers computer-assisted surgery, plus “three-dimensional computer rendering of CT, MRI, and PET images.” Our surgical colleagues are helping us carry medical visualization technology from diagnostic applications directly to patients.
In this issue The article by Wahle and colleagues illustrates how computer graphics can help plan cardiac surgery and verify its results. Patel, Vannier, and Marsh make heavy use of computer graphic renderings of head and facial structure to simulate surgery and guide the subsequent procedure. In both of these articles, computer graphics techniques, once exotic to surgery, are shown to be integral to current therapy. Wong and colleagues from UC San Francisco present their work to fuse the information from several brain imaging modalities to reduce both cost and patient risk. They show how cross registration of 3D image data and 3D renderings from CT, MR, and other imaging equipment can decrease the need for invasive EEG monitoring. The NeuroNet article by Sclabassiand his co-workers describes a system that provides immediate consultation between the surgeon and a remotely located neurophysiologist. In neurological surgery, accuracy to 1 mm is essential to reach small lesions centrally located or proximal to critical brain structures. A freehand optical digitizing localizer is evaluated for surgical procedures in the article by Tebo and his colleagues. Their work demonstrates that visualization techniques to register previously imaged anatomy with patient anatomy in actual surgery can be done without head fixation and registration devices (stereotactic frames). These devices can make such procedures awkward and limit the surgical approach. The theme articles in this issue complement addi-
0272-1 7-16/96/85 00 0 1996 IEEE
tional articles on this topic to be found in the January 1996 issue of Computer. For further reading, examine the Computer articles as well.
Douglas D. Robertson is an assistant professor in the Mallinckrodt Institute ofRadiologyand the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at WashingtonUniversitySchool ofMedicine in St. Louis, Missouri. He directs the Orthopaedic Imaging and BiomeMichael L. Rhodes is Director of chanics Lab. His interests include modeling and numeriEngineering at ToshibaAmerica MRl, cal simulations of the skeleton, specifically with regard to where magnetic resonance scanners orthopaedic implants; the biomechanics of the skeleton; are developed and manufactured for and the development of advanced imaging and imageproclinical medicine. His interests include cessing techniques. Robertson received his BSfrom McGill Universityand medical applications of computer graphics, computer communications, his MD andPhDfiom Georgetown University.He isa memand development ofsoftwareproductsfor clinical imaging. ber of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology SociRhodes obtained his BS in aerospace engineeringfrom ety, Orthopaedic Research Society, American Society of the Universityof Michigan and his MS and PhD in com- Biomechanics, and Radiological Society ofNorth America. puter sciencefrom the Universityof California at Los Angeles. He is a senior member of the IEEE Computer Society, Readers may contact Rhodes at Toshiba America MRI, Radiological Society of North America, and Tau Beta Pi. 280 Utah Ave., South San Francisco, CA 94080, e-mail He is a founding co-chair of the ComputerAssistedRadi-
[email protected] and Robertson at MIR, 510 S. Kingology (CAR) conference series and an editorial board mem- shighway Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63110, e-mail robertber of IEEE CG&A.
[email protected] 1.edu.
Call for Articles
I€€€Computer Graphics and Applications and I€€€ MulfiMedia
I
Special Joint Issue: March/Spring 1997
3D and Multimedia on the Information Superhighway The interconnection of computers by networks is rapidly providing the infrastructure for sharing multimedia information and applications. World Wide Web and the Internet now support an exponentid growth in the numbers of servers and users, linking researchers, industry, service providers, students, and other users. Broadband networking and ATM support distributed real-time applications such as collaborative 3D visualization and virtual prototyping. Developments inVRML allow 3D data to be explored and displayed over the Internet. With these facilities, the network offers innovative forms of cooperation and interaction such as virtual organizations and virtual humans. This Special Joint Issue will be devoted to the themes of 3D and multimedia on the Internet and includes the followingtopics: Collaborative 3D visualization Teleporting into 3D worlds Multiuser environments for 3D Distributed simulation of 3D environments 3D interaction on the Net Virtual humans and agents Broadband networks and ATM support for 3D
VRML, MPEG, JPEG Standards for multimedia and 3D 3D hypermedia Multimedia toolkits and authoring environments for 3D Integrating 3D and other media Multimedia databases for 3D Video animation on the Net
Submit six copies of full papers to:Prof. Rae A. Earnshaw, Head of Electronic Imaging and Media Communications Unit, Univ. of Bradford, Bradford BD7 lDP, UK, phone +44-1274-384001, fax +44-1274-38727,e-mail
[email protected]. In the US: Carl Machover, Machover Associates, 152A Longview Ave., White Plains, NY 10605. In Asia: T.L. Kunii, President, University of Aizu, Tsuruga, Ikki-machi, Aizu Wakamatsu City, Fukushima, Japan. Manuscripts are due May 15,1996.Manuscripts undergo a referee process consistent with other archival publications.Notification of acceptance or requests for remion will be made by September 15,1996. Final versions of accepted manuscripts are due November 15,1996.
Author kits are available from editorial secretary Alkenia Winston at IEEE Computer Society, 10662 Los Vaqueros Circle, Los Alamitos, CA 90720, (714) 821-8380, fax (714) 821-4010,
[email protected].
IEEE. Computer Graphics and Applications
29
