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3-D visualization and animation technologies in anatomical imaging

This paper explores a 3-D computer artist's approach to the creation of three-dimensional computer-generated imagery (CGI) derived from clinical scan data. Interpretation of scientific imagery, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), is restricted to the eye of the trained medical practitioner in a clinical or scientific context. The work discussed in the paper was compiled from research spanning a 5-year period. In the research work described here, MRI data are visualized and interpreted by a 3-D computer artist using the tools of the digital animator to navigate image complexity and widen interaction. In this process, the artefact moves across disciplines; it is no longer tethered to its diagnostic origins. It becomes an object that has visual attributes such as light, texture and composition, and a visual aesthetic of its own. The introduction of these visual attributes provides a platform for improved accessibility by a lay audience. The paper argues that this more artisan approach to clinical data visualization has a potential real-world application as a communicative tool for clinicians and patients during consultation.

The paper explores the contemporary toolkit developed and used by the artist/researcher within the context of clinical imaging. The underlying research stems from a real-world interdisciplinary collaboration between the following three fields: 3D CGI; radiological imaging and patient communication. The paper explores the connections between these fields on both a theoretical and pragmatic level. A series of 3D CGI computer visualisations are included that probe how artists and designers might inform alternative modes of doctor-patient interaction. It concludes that interpretative, arts-based visualised disease imagery could have a place in mainstream medical communication. Prior to publication, the paper was also presented to peers at the 'Art of Anatomy’ Symposium, 4 January 2009, Anatomical Society of Great Britain and Ireland – St Anne's College, University of Oxford.