PC-based volume rendering for medical visualisation and augmented reality based surgical navigation

We describe a generic software architecture for stereoscopic augmented reality microsurgery, built upon a general framework for volume rendering based 3D visualisation. The software is called ARView and allows the user to perform the standard procedures for stereoscopic augmented reality surgical navigation: calibration of a visualisation device; registration of pre-operatively and intra-operatively acquired patient image data; overlaying with either volume or surface rendered (segmented) data using different methodologies; and tracking of moving objects in the surgical scene.