Endoscopic exploration inside 3D medical images

Abstract:

Endoscopy has become a common diagnostic and surgical technique for many medical applications. Endoscopes are thin tubular fiber-optic devices that permit the examination of hollow anatomical regions. The physician inserts the endoscope via a small incision and then guides the device through the regions of interest. With an endoscope, a physician can "walk" through the body in much the same way a miner walks through a mine shaft. While endoscopy permits one to probe complex structures, it has the disadvantages of being prone to surgical errors and not permitting wide anatomical exploration.

Currently, we are working on a project in which we aim to merge the concepts of 3D imaging and endoscopy synergistically. We have devised PC and Sun based virtual endoscopic systems for noninvasive analysis and visualization of pulmonary and coronary structures. A high-resolution 3D image volume of the relevant anatomy acts as the input to the system. The user then 'navigates' through the anatomy using the 3D image as a virtual environment. The interactive systems feature many visualization and quantitation tools.


"Image-Guided Endoscopy for Lung Cancer Assessment"


"Virtual Bronchoscopy for 3D CT Assessment and Endoscopic Guidance"

"Virtual Bronchoscopic Approach for Combining 3D CT and Endoscopic Video"

"(New) Improved Techniques for Fast Sliding Thin-Slab Volume Visualization"

"Virtual Bronchoscopic Assessment of Major-Airway Obstructions"

"Template-Based Approach for Virtual-Endoscopic Navigation"

"Virtual Bronchoscopy for 3D Pulmonary Image Assessment"

"Automatic Image Analysis for Efficient Virtual-Bronchoscopic Assessment"

"A Quantitative and Visual Approach to CT-Based, Virtual, Bronchoscopic Exploration"


 Pictures

 
Through a dog lung, facing forward (MPEG)
 
Through a dog lung, facing backward (MPEG)

 
About Virtual Endoscopy

 
Electrical Engineering Department Computer Science and Engineering Department Department of Bioengineering Penn State University Electrical Engineering 304 Electrical Engineering West University Park, PA 16802 Tel: 814.865.6512 Fax: 814.863.5341