Visualization techniques for human hollow structures

3D visualized reconstruction of human hollow structures from noninvasive medical imaging data is very important to medical diagnosis of the inner surface of hollow structures,medical education and surgical planning.However,due to the particular structures and characteristics of hollows,how to exactly and intuitively visualize the 3D structure and shape of the inner surface of a hollow structure is still a difficult issue in the field of medical visualization.A review of recent development of visualization techniques for human hollow structures is given in this article.Techniques including virtual endoscopy,virtual flattening,virtual cutting and color mapping ale described and compared.The advantages and disadvantages of each technology are pointed out.The future development of visualization techniques for hollow structures is also discussed. Key words: Hollow structure; Visualization; Virtual endoscopy