Visual imaging a breakthrough in health industry

From robots performing invasive surgery to 3D images of a baby inside a womb, this new medical imaging software is enabling experts to have a higher degree of precision than ever before.

Once considered a novelty, 3D is now becoming a norm. You can see it everywhere in movie theatres, in films such as Avatar, Toy Story 3 and Kung Fu Panda 2. The TV screen is its next permanent abode but its most significant contribution is being witnessed in the field of medicine, especially in the operation theatres.

There is a thin line between 3D technology designed for consumer entertainment and that used for diagnostic and surgical procedures. 3D is entering a new era of ubiquity and affordability in the sphere of diagnostic technology according to analysts. Its wide application in the field of medicine has substantially reduced the cost of treatment as well as chances of error leading to experimental surgeries.

Visual learning is a process in which ideas, concepts, data and other information are associated with images and techniques to understand things in a crystal-clear way. Visual learning with 3D has brought a revolution in the realm of conventional learning which is fast becoming a thing of the past in this dynamic era of technical advancement. The major advantage of learning in 3D is that it allows the learner to be immersed in a learning environment. This experience is as close to the actual performance environment as the learner can get without actually being there. Simply, it is learning by doing.

3D learning, also known as depth perception, is more realistic than page turning, e-learning and even a class room environment. When the learner is deeply buried in a 3D environment head to toes, he is cognitively encoding the sounds, sights and spatial (of space) relationships of the environment and is behaviorally engaged in the process.

The person becomes emotionally involved and behaves and acts as he would in the actual situation. When this happens, it allows the learner to more effectively encode the learning process for preservation of data in the brain and its subsequent recalling.

The 3D world, unlike reading or listening phenomenon, provides a sense of “being there” which, again, ties to visual and mental cues which makes the recall more effective. A unique 3D visualization strategy for high-end medical applications developed over recent years have made it possible for medical experts to have a ‘picture perfect’ view of the internal organs of the human body.

It is a significant milestone and an exciting first step towards delivering doctors, radiologist and other medical professionals greater ease and efficiency when it come to clinical investigation, diagnosis, treatment strategy and follow-up process. 3D medical imaging software enables experts to have a higher degree of precision and accuracy than ever before.

It saves a lot of time, reduce the chances of errors and improve certainty of pin-pointing the exact cause. From a patient’s perspective, it reduces the cost of an individual’s general health care system.
With the advent of visual learning with 3D, the patient has become more involved in the healing process and is better aware of the complexity of his disease with the help of animation. The disease is no longer some an enigma that the patient cannot understand.

This awareness is known to have a therapeutic effect for the patient improving his emotional well being by elevating his/her spirit to fight the disease and ensuring a quick recovery. 3D surgery has been around for almost a decade. It helps improve minimally-invasive procedures through robotic 3D visualization technology. During the procedure, the surgeon sits with a console – across the room from the patient – controlling the robot and looking into an eyepiece that gives him/her a three-dimensional view of the insides of the patient.

There are strong indications that a number of companies are working on commercializing endoscopic and laparoscopic 3D systems later this year. Rather than relying on a separate robotic console, these will use a 3D screen with 3D glasses – similar to the movies.

The experts say that 3D effect is achieved through passive polarization technology – the same technology used in the cheap glasses one wears to watch Avatar in a theater. The surgeon does not need to remove the 3D glasses at all during the procedure.. He can just keep his glasses on throughout the procedure even when he’s not looking at the 3D screen.

It is understood that Sony is a leader in 3D in the consumer world in terms of content creation but other competitors in the global market like Seimens Healthcare are also working with similar technology. In June, for instance, Siemens Healthcare launched its “syngo.fourSight Workplace,” an obstetrician-specific ultrasound workstation.

The latest technology claims that it enables physicians and expectant mothers to see babies in three dimensions inside the womb. Dr. Norbert Gaus, CEO of clinical products division at Siemens Healthcare says: “It offers a truly remarkable experience that’s rewarding for parents and their doctors.”