NVIDIA CUDA: Week in Review - Issue #29

Vivid 3D Ultrasounds with CUDA
This week Siemens Healthcare announced availability of its next-generation 3D/4D ultrasound software which produces realistic, vivid images of a fetus. When we saw Dr. Roee Lazebnik of Siemens demo this at CUDA Day last February, we frankly were amazed by it.

Now that the product (called syngo.fourSight Workplace) is shipping, we contacted Roee, director of product development, for an update. Here's an excerpt from our interview:

NVIDIA: Roee, congratulations on the release. How does this technology take ultrasound to the next level?
Roee: This is the world's first commercially-available product for stereoscopic visualization of ultrasound data. It's a breakthrough because it provides anatomical information that can enable better communication between physicians and patients and aid in pre- and post-natal surgical planning.

NVIDIA: The technology leverages CUDA-based NVIDIA Quadro FX solutions as well as NVIDIA 3D Vision. Why is the 3D functionality important?
Roee: When we interact with volumetric data on a 2D screen, our ability to appreciate anatomical subtleties and depth-based details, such as the curvature of a skeletal feature, is limited. It is much more intuitive to visualize 3D data in stereo.

NVIDIA: The technology is described as "3D/4D." What does that mean?
Roee: 3D involves visualizing a static volumetric image. The term 4D refers to visualizing dynamic anatomy, such as the moving limbs or facial gestures of the fetus.

NVIDIA: In what other ways could this technology be applied in the future?
Roee: In the human body, everything from the beating heart to the abdomen can be visualized in a volume mode, meaning it can be reconstructed and viewed from any orientation. This technology has many exciting potential benefits both in diagnosis and visual communication of findings.

Source: NVIDIA