NIH Installs 3-D System for Tumor Research

BURLINGTON, Mass., Jan. 20 -- The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Warren Grant Magnuson Clinical Center in Bethesda, Md., has installed a Perspecta Spatial 3D imaging system, developed by Actuality Systems Inc., for research in pinpointing tumor locations during radiofrequency tumor ablation, or RF ablation, in the liver.

RF ablation is a minimally invasive treatment for cancer that is used as an alternative to surgery; the image-guided technique kills cancer cells by heating and destroying them.

CAPTIONTITLE: The Perspecta Spatial 3D imaging system. Its manufacturer says comparing it to flat-screen 3-D imaging is like comparing a sculpture and a photograph.

Spatial 3-D refers to full-dimensional, interactive imagery that occupies a volume of space, much like a hologram. In addition to tumor ablation, its medical applications include surgical planning, interventional imaging such as aligning a surgeon's scalpel or treatment device with a real-time 3-D scan, breast biopsy, radiation therapy planning and catheter visualization.

"Perspecta Spatial 3D ends the clinician’s dependence on flat-screen interpretations of critical locations and movement," said Cameron Lewis, president and CEO of Burlington, Mass.-based Actuality Systems. "It’s the difference between a sculpture (spatial 3-D) and a photograph (flat-screen 3-D)," he said.

Perspecta's features include instantaneous rendering speeds that make it possible for medical researchers to segment, magnify and render a computed tomography (CT) scan in seconds. The system can provide real-time feedback for cardiac or other minimally invasive procedures or enable a researcher to pan and zoom into complex CT, magnetic resonance imaging and positron emission tomograpy scans.

Actuality Systems said it has applied the technology to applications including computer tomography of luggage for security installations and military applications such as LIDAR and SONAR. According to Lewis, Perspecta systems are being built and tested for seven additional customers, with shipments scheduled over the next few weeks.

For more information, visit: www.actuality-systems.com