Ray casting with "on-the-fly" region growing: 3-D navigation into cardiac MSCT volume.

This paper describes an extended ray casting scheme for three-dimensional (3-D) navigation into the heart cavities for preoperative planning using multislice X-ray computed tomography data. The key benefit is that artifacts due to contrast inhomogeneities can be eliminated during volume traversal, thus improving the visual perception of the endocardial wall.

MSCT labelling for pre-operative planning in cardiac resynchronization therapy.

The objective of this paper is twofold: (i) to show how multislice computed tomography (MSCT) data sets bring the information required for cardiac resynchronisation therapy (CRT) planning; (ii) to demonstrate the feasibility of 3D navigation into the veins where left ventricular leads have to be placed. The former has been achieved by exploring and labelling the cardiac structures of concern, the latter has been performed by using the concept of virtual navigation with high resolution surface detection and estimation algorithms.