Treffer: A Java implementation of a three-dimensional medical imaging system ; Java implementation of a three dimensional medical imaging system

As humanity's knowledge grows, so must its resources to store the knowledge. Computers have proven an exceptional aid in storing and retrieving data, and along with network systems have provided a convenient way of distributing and sharing this data over large geographic areas. The medical community in particular requires large quantities of storage space, and the storage and distribution powers of networked computers have been an essential tool in the field. With recent advances in CPUs and accelerated 3D graphics processors, high-powered 3D medical analysis applications are becoming more of a reality on relatively inexpensive computer systems. However, with the great variety of hardware platforms, it can be difficult to develop an industry-strength 3D application for a heterogeneous networked system. Sun Microsystems' JavaSuperscript Tm] programming language and Java 3D[Superscript Tm] API attempt to bring several heterogeneous systems together by allowing programmers to develop and compile a 3D application to be used on virtually any system. This project explores the design and implementation of a platform-independent three-dimensional medical image viewing system. The goal is to create an intranet-based application that allows a physician with moderate computer experience to view and manipulate a 3D "sketch" of a patient's MR or CT scan results. This 3D medical viewing application is written in Java[Superscript TM] 1.2 and uses the Java 3D[Superscipt TM] API along with other major Java 1.2 technologies and APIs. The paper briefly explores four medical imaging systems currently in use or development that provided the ideas for the feature included in this project. Each of the Java and non-Java technologies used in the project are also examined and described. The system's architecture and implementation are then explored, followed by a description of testing efforts. Since performance is an important factor, the efforts to make the application perform better are also explored.