Augmented-Reality Visualization of Tissue Stiffness Data

In this article, we present an augmented-reality approach to visualization of human tissue stiffness data. Tissue stiffness values are measured by a special tactile sensor. A head-mounted display with a small video camera and a notebook computer are employed. We use two markers to create augmentation of a human organ by computer-generated visual information. One marker is attached to the patient’s body and is used to track the spacial position of the human organ where the measurements are done. Another marker is integrated into the tactile sensor. Tracking this marker helps to determine the shape of the human organ for subsequent data visualization. Results of stiffness measurements are depicted as semi-transparent three-dimensional objects superimposed on the patient’s body. We have experimented with sensing stiffness data and its visualization for a variety of objects, from a silicon breast model to animals organs. Experiments show that the developed augmented-reality system is useful in medical-physics measurements.