Scientists Enter the Big Picture

An innovative visualization display lets researchers explore larger-than-life versions of their microscopic data. [Excerpts from an article in "Computer Graphics World" magazine, March, 1997, by Diana Phillips Mahoney.]

Whether it's being used to investigate the structure of proteins or the presence of oil in deep-buried rock samples, an innovative 3D-display environment at Brookhaven National laboratory in Long Island, New York, is helping to bring researchers into the heart of their microscopic data.

In the conference-room-like setting of Brookhaven's new 3D visualization center, scientists wearing ordinarily 3D visualization glasses are able to explore some of the smallest molecular structures known to man. Her journeys are made possible by a combination of an imaging procedure called computed microtomography, commercial visualization software, projection algorithms, and a rear-projection stereographic display system.

With the new 3D visualization setup, says Brookhaven senior scientist Arnold Peskin, "[the geologists] can use the mouse to actually navigate through the pores and see how well the 'Swiss cheese' is connected, which gives them a better idea as to whether they can get the things on the inside out. A 3D picture just shows holes and blotches."

In addition to examining rock samples, the Brookhaven have used the visualization system to create 3D projection images of protein structures, engineering diagrams ("It's a natural for CAD/CAM," says Peskin), and even the complex design of a collider detector prior to construction.

Another group now using the facility includes doctors who administer treatments for the irradiation of cancerous tumors. "These doctors use one picture that shows the anatomy, including the tumor, then they use another picture that shows the dosage distribution of the nuclear medicine. They superimpose the two pictures to make sure the medicine is where the tumor is, and that's not destroying healthy tissue." says Peskin.

Because 3D visualization facility is easy to replicate, Peskin envisions networks of facilities that will allow physicians or scientists to teleconferencing from remote sites while viewing the same image.


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