3D Radiology images

The Stanford University School of Medicine has a fascinating Flickr stream, including a collection of mystery medical history photos that I posted about several months ago. Most recently, they added a small set of interesting images from their 3D Radiology Lab. Above: "3D frontal view of teeth with braces overlaid on 2D human mandible. The wisdom teeth (upper right and left) have not yet penetrated the gums." Below left: "The lumbar region of the spine with surgically implanted hardware." From the 3D Radiology Set description:

The Stanford Radiology 3D Imaging Laboratory uses computed tomography and Magnetic Resonance imaging data to create three-dimensional images of the human body. Individual CT and MR scans of the body are taken around a single axis that are stacked and rendered using complex computer algorithms to create a three-dimensional volume of data. The images produced from this data can be manipulated on-screen to provide doctors with unique interior perspectives of the human body for diagnosing and treating patients. Each month the lab produces nearly 20,000 images.

3D Radiology

[#1 posted by IWood, July 10, 2009 1:39 PM]

That first one is gonna eat my soul, I think.

[#2 posted by Johnny Astro, July 10, 2009 2:03 PM]

If anyone is interested in making 3D radiology pictures on their own, there is a fantastic free open source Mac program called Osirix that does exactly that. http://www.osirix-viewer.com/

[#3 posted by joe blough, July 10, 2009 4:45 PM]

johnny, you beat me to it. the 3D reconstructions you can make from CT datasets with osirix are incredible. MR not as much, but still very interesting. if you ever had a CT or MR done you should be able to get a CDROM containing the data from the lab for free or for a small charge. nowadays they usually just give you the disc when you leave.

[#4 posted by A Matlock, July 11, 2009 5:23 AM]

Here is an illustrator who uses Osirix. Checkout the movies at the bottom of his site.
Swift Illustration

[#5 posted by Anonymous, July 11, 2009 10:48 AM]

Here's a great repository of DICOM data sets for exploration in Osirix:

http://pubimage.hcuge.ch:8080/

(As an aside, this is an interesting lesson in university branding/PR/marketing. A lot of university labs across the nation do 3D radiology. But, only the Stanford lab thought to make a flickr stream of the most visually appealing, and thus has the opportunity to be publicly associated with the technique, which is standard in industry, but cutting-edge and fascinating for most laypeople.)

[#6 posted by Anonymous, July 26, 2009 7:12 PM]

Great radiology images!! Stanford is always on the cutting edge!!

Steven Chan MD
radRounds