Advanced graphics behind medical virtual reality: Evolution of algorithms, hardware, and software interfaces

作     者：Soferman, Z Blythe, D John, NW 

作者机构：Silicon Graph Biomed Ltd IL-91487 Jerusalem Israel Silicon Graph Inc Mountain View CA 94043 USA Silicon Graph Biomed Ltd Manchester M5 2XW Lancs England 

出 版 物：《PROCEEDINGS OF THE IEEE》 (电气与电子工程师学会会报)

年 卷 期：1998年第86卷第3期

页      面：531-554页

核心收录：

学科分类：0808[工学-电气工程] 08[工学] 

主　　题：augmented reality computer graphics evolution graphics accelerator graphics algorithms graphics hardware hardware evolution history medical imaging medicine OpenGL surgery virtual reality volume rendering 

摘      要：Applications of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) in medicine require real-time visualization and modeling of large three-dimensional data sets. Consequently, these applications require powerful computation, extensive high-bandwidth memory, and fast communication links. In the past, the manufacturers of medical imaging equipment produced their own special-purpose proprietary hardware for image processing and solid graphics. Due to the developments in computer hardware in general and in graphics accelerators in particular, there is a trend toward replacing the proprietary hardware with off-the-shelf (OTS) equipment. Computer graphics itself has advanced in its quest for realism. Generic algorithms such as shading, texture mapping, and volume rendering have been developed to meet the resultant ever increasing requirements. Advances in both the OTS CPU and graphics hardware have enabled real-time implementations of these algorithms, thereby facilitating many of the medical VR/AR applications used today. The development of graphics libraries such as OpenGL has also been an important factor. These libraries provide an underlying portable software platform that optimizes the utilization of the available graphics hardware. OpenGL has become a standard graphics application programming interface, particularly for graphics-intensive applications, and more and more OTS systems provide hardware implementations of OpenGL commands. This review paper follows the evolution of these technologies and examines their crucial role in enabling the appearance of the current VR/AR applications in medicine and provides a look at current trends and future possibilities.