Medical imaging plays a central role in a vast range of healthcare practices. The usefulness of 3D visualizations has been demonstrated for many types of treatment planning. Nevertheless, full access to 3D renderings outside of the radiology department is still scarce even for many image-centric specialties. Our work stems from the hypothesis that this under-utilization is partly due to existing visualization systems not taking the prerequisites of this application domain fully into account. We have developed a medical visualization table intended to better fit the clinical reality. The overall design goals were two-fold: similarity to a real physical situation and a very low learning threshold. This paper describes the development of the visualization table with focus on key design decisions. The developed features include two novel interaction components for touch tables. A user study including five orthopedic surgeons demonstrates that the system is appropriate and useful for this application domain.

BY COMBINING VISUALIZATION techniques with interactive multi-touch tables and intuitive user interfaces, visitors to museums and science centers can conduct self-guided tours of large volumetric image data. In an interactive learning experience, visitors become the explorers of otherwise invisible interiors of unique artifacts and subjects. Here, we take as our starting point the state of the art in scanning technologies, then discuss the latest research on high-quality interactive volume rendering and how it can be tailored to meet the specific demands key insights ˽ Volumetric visualization, together with CT scanning, creates opportunities for science communication, as visitors to public venues interactively explore the hidden interiors of rare museum artifacts and biological remains.˽ Curating data and producing stories are bottlenecks for curators, interpreters, and exhibition designers; software solutions for supporting this workflow are lacking.˽ Social context and engagement at public venues is available through touch tables with high resolution, image quality, and graphics performance together with user-interface design, balancing free exploration and guided storytelling.

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