Automatic analysis in virtual endoscopy

An apparatus for automatic analysis in virtual endoscopy for interactively displaying a three-dimensional rendering of an anatomical structure having a lumen, the apparatus comprising:

• a computer-controlled device to acquire images of selected body organs, and
• a renderer to produce three-dimensional renderings of images of the anatomical structures, the renderer adapted to incorporate a surface rendering of an organ into a volume rendering of the surrounding anatomy using texture memory to achieve a combined surface/volume rendering,
• wherein the three-dimensional renderings are interactive to enable the display of movement about the rendered anatomical structure.

An apparatus for automatic analysis in virtual endoscopy for interactively displaying a three-dimensional rendering of an anatomical structure, the apparatus comprising:

• a computer-controlled device to acquire images of selected body organs, and
• a renderer to produce three-dimensional renderings of anatomical structures of the images, the renderer adapted to incorporate a surface rendering of an organ into a volume rendering of the surrounding anatomy using texture memory to achieve a hybrid rendering effect,
• wherein the surface rendered organ may be highlighted in the context of the volume-rendered surrounding anatomy, and wherein the three-dimensional renderings are interactive to enable the display of movement about the rendered anatomical structure.

An apparatus for automatic analysis in virtual endoscopy for interactively displaying a three-dimensional rendering of an anatomical structure, the apparatus comprising:

• a computer-controlled device to acquire images of selected body organs, and
• a renderer to produce in a display window multiplanar views of anatomical structures of the images which include at least one of orthogonal and oblique views that are presented simultaneously with a surface-rendered organ and surrounding volume-rendered anatomy.