Interactive 3-D presentation of medical images on network using VRML 2.0

Recently many researchers have been studying the feasibility of a support system for medical diagnosis through the World Wide Web, and there have been many attempts to construct a distributed database of medical images connected by the computer network. In these cases, the efficient and easy presentation of three-dimensional (3-D) medical images should be a quite important tool. The authors made a 3-D presentation system through the World Wide Web with a practical example image. The target 3-D object is a human head reconstructed from 177 MRI cross section slices, and the data for this display are described by the VRML 2.0 format. The observer can see the 3-D head model from any viewpoint, furthermore, he can operate the model through the network in a simple manner. Now, VRML is a popular and standard language to describe 3-D object, so one doesn´t need to prepare the special software or special instruments. However, one needs some procedure to use it more efficiently. Here, the authors present an interactive 3-D presentation procedure for medical images on the network using VRML 2.0, and it is mentioned the presentation procedure is quite useful for remote medial service, teaching procedure for medical students and explanation for patients