An augmented reality approach to visualize biomedical images

One of the technologies that is showing the most potential in an always widening range of applications, from entertainment to design and even healthcare, is Augmented Reality (AR). The most defining characteristic of AR consists of the possibility to overlap virtual object to be projected by a dedicated device upon a real environment. Throughout this work, the development of an application for the visualization of medical data in AR environments will be discussed. Nowadays, the most appropriate devices for such applications are Head Mounted Displays (HMDs). Investigating current visualization procedures of medical data deriving from CT or MRI scans, AR tools and features have the potential to streamline common activities, as diagnostic and surgery planning precesses, providing a much more immersive user experience. In this paper, an efiective visualization approach merging these new technologies and biomedical images is proposed. Using a cutting edge HMD device, an application that takes as input CT or MRI scans and gives as output an immersive visualization of patient's internal body structures has been developed. The range of possible use scenarios is very wide. In essence, the goal is to recreate the illusion for the user to be able to see through the patient's skin with no visual distortion, providing a much improved perception of the relative position of the inner body structures. Present techniques make use of DICOM data mostly in the diagnostic stage, whereas it is possible to integrate AR tools within the whole medical workfiow and even to further stages of the disease treatment, including surgery planning and training activities. Additionally, the possibility to connect a multitude of HMD devices together that are able to display the same scene from difierent angles, depending on each own position, opens up to a great variety of collaborative working or learning situations. Although there is still a lot of scope for improvements, the paper details the potential of AR for a medical implementation, outlining specifications needed to evolve into something actually usable in a real-life scenario. © 2019, CAD Solutions, LLC. All rights reserved.