Aug 04, 2008
This project, developed by the Web3D Consortium through a generous grant from TATRC enables the volume visualization of medical images within an X3D browser from CT, MRI and other medical imaging devices which output the DICOM standard file format . It also provides resources for tool, content and application developers to incorporate this new functionality of X3D within their product through the creation of a MedX3D profile of the X3D specification, X3D metadata links to the SNOMED CT and FMA anatomic ontologies and import/export libraries in C++ and Visual Basic.
Michael Aratow, MD, FACEP, co-chair of the Medical Working Group, was the Principal Investigator on the project and Nigel John, PhD acted as consultant. Through a competitive proposal process within the Consortium membership, Media Machines, Inc. ,and SenseGraphics AB and VirtuWorlds LLC and Yumetech, Inc. were awarded funding to perform the specific tasks.
TATRC Project Deliverables
The following files developed by the Web3D Consortium are made freely available for unlimited use:
Introduction and Use Cases. This is a brief description of the DICOM standard and how it can be used with X3D. There are also clinical use cases for 3D images listed that were developed in collaboration with the DICOM standards group.
Import and Export SDK (.exe). This file is an SDK that contains import and export libraries and documentation for third party developers who want to work with the MedX3D platform. The library infrastructure is based on COM and there are two test harness applications using Visual Basic and C++. The C++ test harness application shows how the API can be used to import and interrogate an X3D file by displaying the node hierarchy of the contents in a GUI tree window. The test harness then programmatically adds content to the scene, and exports the result, thus illustrating the ability to programmatically generate X3D content. The development of the Import/Export Library utilized the Flux X3D-based engine.
X3D Metadata Links to SNOMED CT and FMA (.doc). This report describes the methodology and examples for mapping X3D files with SNOMED CT and the FMA, the two leading anatomical ontologies.
MedX3D 0.6 (.zip). This is the MedX3D browser and accompanying documentation. This browser is based on the X3D standard and the draft volume rendering component. It can be used as a standalone application or as a plugin for Firefox, Internet Explorer or Opera. The standalone application can import raw DICOM files. The current version is only supported in computers running the Windows operating system.
