Introduction to the special section on virtual endoscopy

Virtual endoscopy (VE) is an itegration of medical imaging and virtual reality. VE gives a computer-based alternative to standard radiological image viewing and to traditional fiberoptic endoscopy for examining the interior structures of human organs. It has evolved rapidly in the past decade, as high-resolution helical spiral computed tomography (CT) has evolved for clinical use. A total of 22 submissions were received, covering modalities of virtual colonoscopy, virtual bronchoscopy, and virtual angioscopy, with technical focus on image segmentation, registration, dynamical modeling, flight path planning, fast volumetric rendering, interactive and active navigation, and CAD.