Full title : 3 D Augmented Reality Simulator for Neonatal Cranial Sonography Short title : AR Simulator for Neonatal Cranial Sonography

We are presenting CranUS, a simulator for neonatal cranial sonography. Its main purpose is to support teaching and training of a method of examination used in child radiology, that depicts the inside of a baby's skull by viewing through the fontanelle using ultrasound signals. This paper describes the concept and the implementation of that augmented reality supported 3D simulator, which is – to the best of the author's knowledge – the first one for this kind of examination. Physical models of a newborn and an ultrasound probe were tracked and their movements displayed in their virtual representation. The head of the newborn model was augmented with a 3D volume, reconstructed from ultrasound images of a real patient. For examination of newborn children, no tracking information of the patient can be acquired. The volume therefore has to be reconstructed without exact knowledge of the slices positions/orientations. Reconstructing a 3D volume from irregular source data requires positioning the images and the subsequent interpolation. When moving the physical models with respect to one another, the corresponding slices are generated in real time. The actual slice is shown on the 2D user interface, beside an image displaying the corresponding position of the models and additional visualization and tracking information. A prototype of the application was presented to the interested research community and thereby evaluated for its suitability as a training tool.

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