Distributed system for processing 3D medical images.

Abstract

Three-dimensional (3D) image data generated by radiological imaging modalities such as CT and MRI can provide detailed structural insight. Automating the analysis of these images can improve the consistency of the results and reduce user interaction time, but introduces a tremendous computational burden. To address this problem, we have designed a distributed processing environment for the rapid processing of 3D medical images. Our system allows a user to perform automatic 3D filtering, segmentation, and measurement on a 3D image using a heterogeneous network of processors and the PVM protocol.