Enhancing Vascular Analysis with Distance Visualizations: An Overview and Implementation

• Main Authors: Hombeck, Jan, Meuschke, Monique, Lieb, Simon, Lichtenberg, Nils, Fleisch, Felix, Enderling, Maximilian, Datta, Rabi, Krone, Michael, Hansen, Christian, Preim, Bernhard, Lawonn, Kai
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 11-05-2023
• Subjects: Computer Science - Computers and Society; Computer Science - Graphics
• DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.2305.06726

In recent years, the use of expressive surface visualizations in the
representation of vascular structures has gained significant attention. These
visualizations provide a comprehensive understanding of complex anatomical
structures and are crucial for treatment planning and medical education.
However, to aid decision-making, physicians require visualizations that
accurately depict anatomical structures and their spatial relationships in a
clear and well-perceivable manner. This work extends a previous paper and
presents a thorough examination of common techniques for encoding distance
information of 3D vessel surfaces and provides an implementation of these
visualizations. A Unity environment and detailed implementation instructions
for sixteen different visualizations are provided. These visualizations can be
classified into four categories: fundamental, surface-based, auxiliary, and
illustrative. Furthermore, this extension includes tools to generate endpoint
locations for vascular models. Overall this framework serves as a valuable
resource for researchers in the field of vascular surface visualization by
reducing the barrier to entry and promoting further research in this area. By
providing an implementation of various visualizations, this paper aims to aid
in the development of accurate and effective visual representations of vascular
structures to assist in treatment planning and medical education.