Cinematic rendering enhancements to virtual bronchoscopy: assessment of emergent tracheal pathology

Photorealistic Depiction of Intracranial Tumors Using Cinematic Rendering of Volumetric 3T MRI Data

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES

Cinematic Rendering (CR) incorporates a complex lightning model that creates photorealistic models from isotropic 3D imaging data. The utility of CR in depicting volumetric MRI data for pre-therapeutic planning is discussed, with intracranial tumors as a demonstrative example.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We present a series of Cinematically Rendered intracranial tumors and discuss their utility in multidisciplinary pre-therapeutic evaluation. Isotropic, high-resolution, volumetric MRI data was collected, and CR was performed utilizing a proprietary application, "Anatomy Education" Siemens, Munich, Germany.

RESULTS

Discrimination of cortex to white matter, brain surface to vessels, subarachnoid space to cortex and skull to intracranial structures was achieved and optimized by using various display settings on the Anatomy education application. Progressive removal of tissue layers allowed for a comprehensive assessment of the entire region of interest. Complex, small structures were demonstrated in very high detail. The depth and architecture of the sulci was appreciated in a format that more closely mimicked gross pathology than traditional imaging modalities. With appropriate display settings, the relationship of the cortical surface to the adjacent vasculature was also delineated.

CONCLUSION

CR depicts the anatomic location of brain tumors in a format that depicts the relative proximity of adjacent structures in all dimensions and degrees of freedom. This allows for better conceptualization of the pathology and greater ease of communication between radiologists and other clinical teams, especially in the context of pretherapeutic planning.

Global illumination rendering versus volume rendering for the forensic evaluation of stab wounds using computed tomography

We compared three-dimensional (3D) CT images of stabbing victims subjected to volume-rendering (VR) or global illumination-rendering (GIR), a new technique now available for the reconstruction of 3D CT images. It simulates the complete interactions of photons with the scanned object, thereby providing photorealistic images. The diagnostic value of the images was also compared with that of macroscopic photographs. We used postmortem 3D CT images of 14 stabbing victims who had undergone autopsy and CT studies. The 3D CT images were subjected to GIR or VR and the 3D effect and the smoothness of the skin surface were graded on a 5-point scale. We also compared the 3D CT images of 37 stab wounds with macroscopic photographs. The maximum diameter of the wounds was measured on VR and GIR images and compared with the diameter recorded at autopsy. The overall image-quality scores and the ability to assess the stab wounds were significantly better on GIR than VR images (median scores: VR = 3 vs GIR = 4, p < 0.01). The mean difference between the wound diameter measured on VR and GIR images and at autopsy were both 0.2 cm, respectively. For the assessment of stab wounds, 3D CT images subjected to GIR were superior to VR images. The diagnostic value of 3D CT GIR image was comparable to that of macroscopic photographs.