Controller brings medical imagery into sharp focus

The growth in three-dimensional (3D) medical-imaging technology in recent years means that radiologists are now routinely examining complex 3D data-image sets. Increasingly, they are using 2D image planes that slice through this data at a variety of angles to obtain the most clinically informative view.

However, current approaches used to orientate the 2D image plane within the 3D data are cumbersome and visually distracting. Workstations with conventional keyboards and mice require users to rely on multiple reference images and multiple operations to change the orientation of the image plane.

The new controller, invented by Prof David Lomas of the Department of Radiology at Cambridge University and Dr Martin Graves of Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, allows radiologists to orientate 2D views created from 3D data easily and rapidly without depending on reference images.

By allowing the radiologist to focus only on the clinical image, the controller minimises the spatial disorientation and visual distraction associated with existing approaches.