Albuquerque VA Medical
Center Explores Medical Uses of Holographic Camera
By Chris Scheer
The Veterans Affairs
Medical Center in Albuquerque has been test-running a hologram
machine, the Voxcam manufactured by Voxel Inc. of California,
to see how it can be useful as a medical tool. Albuquerque is
the only hospital in the country that has the Voxcam on site.
How the Hologram
Is Compiled
With its ability to
reconstruct bones, organs and blood vessels in a three-dimensional
image, the hologram provides a unique view of the human body.
The hologram is compiled from CT (computerized tomography) scans
or MRIs (magnetic resonance imaging) data. Those images consist
of a series of visual slices through the part of the body being
studied. The Voxcam, using a laser, puts them together into a
three-dimensional whole.
Dr. George A. Brown
has used more than 100 of the images in treating people with broken
pelvises. The hologram can show layers of bone fragments, without
one obscuring another, says Dr. Brown, who is on the VA staff
and is assistant professor of orthopedic surgery at the University
of New Mexico School of Medicine. Knowing exactly where the pieces
of bone are can help doctors be more precise, making smaller surgical
openings.
Image Is an Exact
Duplicate
Since the image is an
exact duplicate and is presented in the same size as the actual
body part, a doctor can make actual measurements and test angles
on the image. Before going into surgery, for instance, a doctor
could use the hologram to test if a pin or screw to correct a
fracture is long enough.
The holograms have been
particularly useful for doctors looking at blood vessels in the
brain. They also have been used to examine blood vessels in the
legs to pinpoint blockages.
Ultimately, the holograms
may be most useful for someone with severe trauma, an auto accident
victim, for example. But right now it takes too long, 35 minutes,
to get the pictures. A newer version of the machine, scheduled
for release next year, should cut the time to 15 minutes.
Voxel currently has
arrangements with about 38 hospitals around the country to translate
their scans into holograms. The hologram images are returned to
them one day after hospitals send the information to the company’s
Laguna Hills headquarters.
Albuquerque operates
as a beta site, where Voxel provides the machine and associated
equipment for free, along with the technologists to run it. In
return, doctors give feedback on problems and possibilities with
the technology.
About the Author
Chris Scheer is a public
affairs specialist at the Department of Veterans Affairs Central
Office in Washington, DC. You may reach Chris at 202-273-5732
or chris.scheer@mail.va.gov.
March 1999