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Ricerca>Progetti>Medicalize>Initial
proposal and goals Project Title MEDICALIZE Date March 6, 1998 Participants to the Project Project manager and principal investigator Dr. Michele Crudele Medical Informatics Laboratory Libera Università "Campus Bio-Medico" di Roma via Longoni 83 I-00155 ROMA tel. +39-06.22.54.13.60 fax +39-06.22.54.14.56 ISDN videoconference +39-06.22.75.45.45 m.crudele@unicampus.it http://crudele.unicampus.it Other investigators Marco Venditti Libera Università "Campus Bio-Medico" di Roma via Longoni 83 00155 ROMA tel. +39-06.22.54.13.58 fax +39-06.22.54.14.56 m.venditti@unicampus.it Dr. Roberto Diana Medical Informatics Laboratory Libera Università "Campus Bio-Medico" di Roma via Longoni 83 I-00155 ROMA tel. +39-06.22.54.13.98 fax +39-06.22.54.14.56 r.diana@unicampus.it Summary The purpose of MEDICALIZE is to develop a set of software tools that enable medical students manipulate a 3D model of a pathological organ in a real time environment using a standard PC. The software is based on OPEN GL libraries. It can gain an enormous benefit by using the VISUALIZE graphic boards by Hewlett Packard supported on the Windows NT operating system. The speed of rendering and manipulation will be greatly improved with such a board. At this moment the availability of 3D modelling of medical images is limited to high cost workstations. Educational tools will be developed to assist browsing through 3D models, with the capability of setting up case studies on specific pathologies. Milestones
Background MEDICALIZE will partially utilize the outcomes of IAEVA European project (under the "Telematics for improving employment and quality of life - Telematics Applications for Healthcare" programme) which aims at the development of a highly interactive service for three-dimensional models of human pathologies, providing fast transmission and rendering, enhanced manipulation functionality of the models as well as 3D animation sequences of virtual endoscopy, constructed from MRI slices. The service will consist of a number of WEB servers with local nodes at each user sites that will serve as service providers and will disseminate their own pathologies to the global service. The models will be access through standard personal computers configuration with access to Internet services. The system will provide end users with advanced imaging capabilities such as models made of slices from multi-modal inputs (CT and MRI), use of shutter glasses such as LCD and stereo glasses as well as model warping for fast transformation from one pathology to another. In addition, to the visual cues, the service will provide an interactive platform of information exchange between users through a bulletin board with Q&A for individual pathologies which can run as a local service within each user’s site or globally throughout the service nodes. Users will be able also to construct tutorial lessons based on the pathologies that can be used as educational and clinical training within their sites. User group associations consensus will be sought on the design and use of the new technology to ensure that the technology will really be applied in the future, to the on-going education of medical professionals and the health care sector and the European medical industry. The IAEVA project started in 1996 and is now beginning its second phase. The partners are from all over Europe and they range from Universities and Hospitals (Catholic University of Leuven, De Montfort, Munich, Campus Bio-Medico, Great Hormond Street Hospital) to software houses (Neuroware and Byte, Athens; CITEC, Rome) and multimedia editors (Burda-Health on line, Germany; Euromultimedia, Luxemburg). Official information of IAEVA project can be found at the European Commission web site http://www2.echo.lu/telematics/health/iaeva.html Activity Description SURVEY The first task is to conduct a survey on professionals and students desiderata about 3D visualization. An analysis of the state of the art in 3D technology will come from a comprehensive survey of related scientific literature. VISUALIZER DEVELOPMENT The core of the system will be based on the existing code from IAEVA which has been implemented solely in C++ on Win 32 API platforms (Win 95 and Win NT) and OPEN GL libraries. It is intended to use the current visualisation libraries and extend them as needed. The main target is to be cost effective by restructuring the existing software from IAEVA. It is possible that some software will be implemented in Java. This depends upon the existence of native graphics libraries in Java at the time of development. Otherwise, C++ will continue to be used. The Visualizer will be in the form of a public domain plug-in for standard web browsers. In addition, value-added features will be introduced into the system to allow users to expand to other areas. These features are: Support of Multimodal images. This will allow images of the same organ originating from CT and MRI to be combined into one model. Such a model will contain more structural information and will provide better visual cues to the end user. Model warping. This is the process of transforming one solid to another one using space operators. This is an important feature which will allow transformation of, say, a normal organ to one exhibiting a pathology. Production of 3D endoscopy animation sequences. The model producer will be enhanced to reconstruct virtual endoscopy from MRI slices. This will involve processing the MRI slices, setting proper viewing parameters per case and producing the model in one of the formats in use. EDUCATIONAL TOOLS This phase aims at the implementation of software modules for the incorporation of 3D models in existing programs. In addition, supporting software for the maintenance of moderated and non-moderated user groups will also be developed. A set of facilities will be provided that aim to the educational users (students and physicians wanting to improve their knowledge). This will be achieved by the use of a bulletin board with questions and answers for individual pathologies, eventually supported by audio and videoconferencing. The facility for the creation of 3D hyperlinks emerging from the models will be supported and various rendering that stimulate the eye will be investigated (such as the usage of 3D glyphs). WEB SERVER & ASSESSMENT The setting up of a demo web server containing 3D models will allow a world wide test of the Visualizer (which will be distributed freely). The web server will contain the educational tools which will be assessed by students of Campus Bio-Medico University. Publication of the results The results of MEDICALIZE will be published in the web server http://research.unicampus.it/medicalize | |||||||||||||||