Computer Simulation and Visualization

From Leonardo Da Vinci’s anatomical drawings to Wilhelm Roentgen’s first Xray of the human hand to today’s use of computer graphics and virtual reality to “fly through” three-dimensional reconstructions of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data, researchers and physicians have for centuries used visualization in their quest to understand human physiology. The goals of medical simulation and visualization are multifaceted. While some simulations and visualizations facilitate diagnosis, others help physicians plan surgery, therapy, and other forms of treatment. Still other simulation and visualization techniques are used for medical training and to acquire a better understanding of human physiology. Among the most exciting and pressing problems facing computer scientists today are those involving the use of computers in medical applications.With the help of computers, the medical community now verges on important breakthroughs in diagnosing, controlling, treating, and even curing numerous life-threatening conditions, including heart disease and a variety of cancers. Over the past two decades, the techniques of computer simulation and visualization have had a substantial impact on the field of medicine, just as they have on other areas of engineering. The reasons for this are numerous. First, the increasing sophistication of computers, particularly increases in memory capacity, CPU speed, and graphics hardware, has produced a parallel increase in the size and complexity of medical data that can be realistically visualized. At the same time, computer simulation allows biomedical researchers to subject these increasingly high-resolution models and visualizations to increasingly sophisticated quantitative and qualitative examination. Still, the complexity of the human body far outstrips the capabilities of even the largest computational systems, and will do so for some time to come. However, computers are making it possible to graphically display images of both the anatomy and function of the internal organs, control robotic surgical devices, and simulate physiologic responses in ways that are becoming ever more crucial to the effective practice of medicine. In addition, they have been used successfully to suggest physiologically and clinically important scenarios and results in a number of areas. For instance, researchers at the University of Utah and elsewhere are using scientific computing and visualization to address clinical problems in a variety of areas including cardiology and neuroscience. Computer Simulation and Visualization