A general system for computer based acquisition, analysis and display of medical image data

Abstract

A general computer-based system has been developed and implemented for acquiring and viewing medical image data. Originally developed for neuroanatomic studies (1), including investigations of cell topography and connectivity in brainstem nuclei, the system has become a versatile and powerful tool for three-dimensional analysis and display of a variety of types of image data, including studies of cardiac morphometry and 2-d gel electrophoresis. The system includes components for data input via video frame digitizer or digitizing tablet; graphical output through a high-resolution color graphics display or hardcopy plotter. Keys to the system's flexibility and power are a tree-structured data file system, in which line segments and shaded strips may be combined to form complex three-dimensional structures, and a disk-based virtual memory system which permits greater numerical accuracy and use of larger structures than would be otherwise possible with a 16-bit minicomputer.