What is on Your Mind?

I just had this odd idea that may even have some future. The advent of 3D screens for the mass market might prove useful for the healthcare industry, while in surgical practices they rely on medical imagery more and more often. Perhaps the introduction of 3D screens will give the illusion of depth to an organ or bone. This might greatly aid in the diagnostics as well as perhaps remote surgery of otherwise flat images, even if they can be rotated on screen using specialised software. The 3D image might enhance the experience of observing body scans.

The next step would be true-3D screens: the ability to "walk around" objects, full 360 degrees. Let me know what you think.

There's a first step in that direction already been made: da Vinci S Surgical System sports a 3D visualization. Not quite "walk around" yet, but a beginning.

Via: Technology Review (german) (Google translation)

Thank you for your response. The cost seems prohibitive, despite the business case of having patients stay for shorter duration and not occupying a bed for so long. I was thinking more of purchasing equipment (such as the current 3D screens) and integrating that into the existing architecture. This would probably replace the issue from purchasing an off-the-shelf solution to an architecture integration initiative, which is costly too and carries a reputation risk.

par for the course. Prices for medical equipment are always borderline highway robbery, partly because of the small market, partly because of the very high standards expected of the equipment, and frequently, just because they can.

Exactly. Recently I found this article of a group of students making a medical imagery computer running on stock hardware and a rigged Centos distribution: FASTRA