Technologies for Augmented Reality Systems: Realizing Ultrasound-Guided Needle Biopsies

We present a real-time stereoscopic video-see-through augmented reality (AR) system applied to the medical procedure known as ultrasound-guided needle biopsy of the breast. The AR system was used by a physician during procedures on breast models and during non-invasive examinations of human subjects. The system merges rendered live ultrasound data and geometric elements with stereo images of the patient acquired through head-mounted video cameras and presents these merged images to the physician in a head-mounted display. The physician sees a volume visualization of the ultrasound data directly under the ultrasound probe, properly registered within the patient and with the biopsy needle. Using this system, a physician successfully guided a needle into an artificial tumor within a training phantom of a human breast. We discuss the construction of the AR system and the issues and decisions which led to the system architecture and the design of the video see-through head-mounted display....

• Type: Conference
• Year: 1996
• Where: SIGGRAPH
• Authors: Andrei State, Mark A. Livingston, William F. Garrett, Gentaro Hirota, Mary C. Whitton, Etta D. Pisano, Henry Fuchs
• Keywords: Computer Graphics, Head-mounted Display, See-through Head-mounted Display, SIGGRAPH 1996, Ultrasound Data