Development of a 3D display system for surgical navigation

For image-guided surgery using 3D medical images, we have developed a 3D display system employing the principle of integral photography (IP). This system consists only of an AT-compatible computer, a liquid-crystal display (LCD), and a lens array. The image for display is constructed by an algorithm for high-speed rendering based on the principle of IP. The 3D image is projected and displayed in space and can be seen by multiple observers in accordance with the observing position without using special glasses or position sensors. Moreover, since the projected 3D image can be moved by manipulation by the observer, the preoperative information operation can be grasped intuitively during the operation by aligning the preoperative 3D image with the observing direction of the patient. The 2D resolution and depth-direction resolution of the projected image based on this system are both in proportion to the resolution of the LCD that is used, which at the present stage is insufficient. However, in this system, since it is in principle possible to display a 3D image accurately with a simple device and to change the direction of observation, this system may be usable in image-navigated surgery when higher-precision LCDs become available in the future. (C) 2001 Scripta Technica.