A Shader for Virtual X-Ray Imaging

A virtual reality environment to visualize and manipulate catheter-based electrophysiology study (EPS) and catheter ablation is under development in our lab. This paper presents a project developing a shader for virtual X-ray imaging. One of main technical issues is how to visualize the motion of catheters within a 3D heart model as an actual X-ray camera does. We describe an application of a novel shader technique for visualizing virtual X-ray images in computer graphics. A programmable shader was developed to calculate thickness of the three-dimensional surface model of internal organs (bone, muscle, lungs, etc.) and generate virtual X-ray images in real-time. Experimental results suggest that the shader can be expected to be a convenient tool in the development of a virtual X-ray monitor.