Dear Advanced Visualization Insider,
Boasting a strong showing at the recent ECR 2018 in Vienna, 3D printing was the mainstay of dozens of scientific sessions and poster presentations. New research at the congress underscored its growing role in presurgical planning, training, and simulation.
Researchers from Germany have formulated a 3D printing technique that uses both a standard desktop printer containing radiopaque ink and a commercial 3D printer to create lifelike CT phantoms. They discussed the printing process and the potential these 3D-printed models have in facilitating CT-guided procedures in two presentations at the congress, which you can read about in our Insider Exclusive.
Several other presentations at ECR 2018 highlighted the growing relevance, if not necessity, of 3D visualization in the field of radiology -- a notion that analysts at Signify Research have also been examining for years, specifically in terms of the fate of virtual reality.
Along with these 3D visualization techniques, augmented reality, too, has been making major gains in recent months. A group from the University of California, San Francisco not only developed proprietary augmented reality software but also showed just how accurate measurements of the software's holograms could be. A group from Canada has also developed augmented reality software, but a version that uses a motion-tracking device to display medical images onto a moving body.
While these North American investigators made progress in augmented reality, a team from Australia and New Zealand found a way for radiologists to examine medical images in 2D and 3D simultaneously. Discover how use of the hybrid 2D/3D interface affected the diagnostic performance of radiology residents.
And finally, bringing it back full circle to 3D printing, clinicians from Saint Louis University School of Medicine constructed 3D-printed hearts from rotational angiograms, scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology designed a method for changing the color of 3D-printed objects, and numerous groups demonstrated other new breakthroughs in 3D printing at the recent Arab Health congress in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Read more stories detailing some of today's most innovative visualization techniques in radiology at AuntMinnie.com. And feel welcome to send me any suggestions for topics you'd like to explore further within our Advanced Visualization Community.
