Dynamic MR mammography: multidimensional visualization of contrast enhancement in virtual reality

Abstract

%675$&7The purpose of this study was the development of a method for fast and efficient analysis of dynamic MR images of the female breast. The image data sets were acquired with a saturation-recovery turbo-FLASH sequence facilitating the detection of the kinetics of the contrast agent concentration in the whole breast with a high temporal and spatial resolution. In addition, a morphological 3D-FLASH data set was acquired. The dynamic image data sets were analyzed by tracer kinetic modeling in order to describe the physiological processes underlying the contrast enhancement in mathematical terms and thus to enable the estimation of functional tissue specific parameters, reflecting the status of microcirculation. In order to display morphological and functional tissue information simultaneously, we developed a multidimensional visualization system, which enables a practical and intuitive human-computer interface in virtual reality. The quality of real-time volume visualization (using 3D-texture mapping) mainly depends on two factors: number and spatial resolution of the sampling slices. Furthermore, to allow the representation of both the MR signal and the relevant set of model parameters, an adaptation of these quantities to the size of the texture element might be necessary.-Detection and localization of multiple breast lesions may be an important application.

Current Trends and Beyond Conventional Approaches: Advancements in Breast Cancer Surgery through Three-Dimensional Imaging, Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, and the Emerging Metaverse

“…VR is a method for fast and efficient analysis of dynamic MR imaging of female breasts. Specifically, it holds significant potential in the detection and localization of multiple breast lesions [59]. Thanks to VR and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging, morphologic and functional tissue information on the breasts can be displayed simultaneously.…”

Survey of the Visual Exploration and Analysis of Perfusion Data

“…A long-term effort on visualizing DCE-MRI mammography data has also been accomplished by Hellwig et al [47]. They investigated virtual reality input and output technology for exploring stereoscopic 3D visualizations of the original data and derived parameter volumes.…”

Image Fusion Based on Topographic Mappings Using the Hyperbolic Space

“…In order to demonstrate the application of the HSOMbased approach to the visualization of multivariate image data, a set of DCE-MRI image sequences from breast cancer research was employed. Breast cancer is one of the most common malignancies among women 35 and the detection and classification of lesions is very important. With respect to this issue DCE-MRI has evolved in the last years as a valuable addition to classical X-ray mammography.…”