Reconstruction and visualization of 3D models of colonic surface

Presents an innovative technology called 3D virtual colonoscopy, which incorporates several advanced visualization techniques to enable the physician to virtually examine the inner surface of the entire colon for identifying and inspecting colonic polyps. The authors first describe their unique process of acquiring and reconstructing a patient's colon model, followed by the novel visualization algorithms that they have developed to provide automatic planned navigations as well as interactive guided navigations inside the colon. Finally, the authors present their experimental results on a simulated pipe phantom, the Visible Human data set, and patient data.