Virtual Organ Segmentation

This movie shows a stack of 303 CT scans representing the torso of a male patient, starting at the pelvic and rising up to the center of the heart and lungs.  The original DICOM images are stacked on top of each other and then displayed in the Amira software package.  Surface extraction algorithms are applied to generate surface-based outlines of critical organs in the dataset.  These outlines are revealed beneath the CT scans.

Data provided by Dr. John Wills, Christiana Care Health System. Visualization conducted in the DBI Visualization Studio by Julian Keufer, Patrick Kögel & Patrick Schuska, under advisement of Dr. Karl V. Steiner, UD-ECE & DBI

Liver Tumor Visualization

This movie shows the rotation of a surface-extracted representation of the torso of a male patient, from the pelvic to the center of the heart and lungs.  Liver, kidneys, major blood vessels and the spine and rib cage are segmented from a stack of 303 CT scans using Amira software.  The liver of the patient is significantly enlarged due to a tumor.  In this visualization, the liver is displayed in semi-transparent mode, revealing the liver tumor in red.

Data provided by Dr. John Wills, Christiana Care Health System. Visualization conducted in the DBI Visualization Studio by Julian Keufer, Patrick Kögel & Patrick Schuska, under advisement of Dr. Karl V. Steiner, UD-ECE & DBI

Virtual Lung Segmentation

This movie shows a stack of 238 CT scans representing the upper torso of a female patient, covering the area of the patient’s lungs.  The original DICOM images are stacked on top of each other and surface extraction reveals a 3D outline of the lungs as the CT slices move upward and from the back to the front.  The patient has a lymph node tumor that blocks a significant part of the left bronchial airway.

Data provided by Dr. Tom Bauer, Christiana Care Health System. Visualization conducted in the DBI Visualization Studio by Patrick Coller under advisement of Dr. Karl V. Steiner, UD-ECE & DBI

Virtual Bronchoscopy

This movie shows a simulated virtual bronchoscopy through a segmented representation of a female patient’s trachea, bronchial airways and lungs.  The segmentations are based on a stack of 238 CT scans representing the upper torso of a female patient. The patient has a lymph node tumor that blocks a significant part of the left bronchial airway and this is seen clearly as the fly-through enters the left bronchial airway.

CT Data provided by Dr. Tom Bauer, Christiana Care Health System. Visualization conducted in the DBI Visualization Studio by Patrick Coller and Sungjun Kim under advisement of Dr. Karl V. Steiner, UD-ECE & DBI

Virtual Surgery Simulation

This movie shows interaction of a simulated scalpel with a segmented visualization of a patient’s kidney and main arteries and veins. The scalpel is moved in response to moving a Phantom Robot arm that is integrated with the visualization studio.  Of the tip of the instrument intersects with the surface of one of the simulated organs, the organ deforms in response to the pressure put onto the robot.  In turn, the robot provides tactile feedback in real time to the user.  This “haptic feedback” is the first step toward a virtual surgery simulator – a “flight simulator for the surgeon.”

CT Data provided by Dr. John Wills, Christiana Care Health System. Simulation conducted in the DBI Visualization Studio by Dr. Pei (Raymond) Chen under advisement of Dr. Karl V. Steiner, UD-ECE & DBI and Dr. Ken Barner, UD-ECE

Inner Ear Anatomy

The anatomy of the extratemporal facial nerve is shown relative to the cartilage pointer and tympanomastoid suture. The intratemporal nerve is shown relative to the digastric ridge, labyrinth, tympanic annulus and middle ear muscles. Measurements are in millimeters. Note the labyrinthine segment is cradled in the space between the superior canal and the cochlea. Note the relation in the internal meatus to the cochlear and vestibular nerve

Data provided by Harvard Medical School and Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark. Simulations conducted in the DBI Visualization Studio by Dr. Brain Kung, Patrick Coller, Robert Forstrom under advisement of Michael Teixido, M.D., Christiana Care Health System and Dr. Karl V. Steiner, UD-ECE & DBI. For additional information and downloadable movies on this subject, please click here.