Virtual Reality for Image-guided Surgery

Recent advances in medical imaging techniques have led to an escalation in the use of image-based information by radiologists, clinicians, and surgeons. The increased availability of imaging modalities is of considerable use to the physician; however, these methods are still inherently limited because they provide images with information limited by the physical characteristics of the imaging device. Although the direct interpretation of images is sufficient, some situations require postprocessing for the extraction and use of the anatomic and physiologic information inherent in the three-dimensional medical images. This chapter reviews some applications that would benefit from improved use of effectively processed medical images.