Arthroscopy has become an irreplaceable method in diagnostics. The arthroscope, with optics and light source, and the exploratory probe are inserted into the knee joint through two small incisions underneath the patella. Currently, the skills required for arthroscopy are taught through hands-on clinical experience. Therefore, the Fraunhofer-Institut h e r Graphische Datenverarbeitung in Darmstadt, in cooperation with the Berufsgenossenschafiche Unfallklinik Frankfurt am Main, developed a highly interactive medical training system for arthroscopy through computer graphics and virtual reality (VR) techniques. Two main issues are addressed: the three-dimensional (3-D) reconstruction process and the 3-D interaction. The god of the reconstruction process is to obtain a realistic representation of the knee joint derived from a magnetic resonance image sequence suitable for computer simulation. Moreover, the 3-D interaction of the training system must simulate real arthroscopy, providing an intuitive handling of the instruments. J h u g e Guid S w g 2:288-294 (2995) 91996 Wdey-Liss, Inc.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.