Guest Editor's introduction: Computer graphics in medicine and biology

In this special issue of IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications, we recognize the new relationship between computers and the medical and biological professions. Computers-particularly through their graphics capabilities- are revolutionizing nearly every aspect of these fields. Here, we present a sampling of recent achievements in computer graphics: techniques that let researchers and doctors see the human body and its processes, enabling more precise, more effective diagnosis and treatment. The articles included are briefly summarized. The topics covered include: the use of computer graphics for visualizing or reconstructing surfaces seen in cross-sectional scans as contours; several algorithms for producing vector or raster drawings of space-filling models formed as the union of spheres, as well as other, smoother surfaces; second-generation stereotactic system that improves on the speed, image resolution, accuracy, and patient comfort of past and current systems; a mathematical framework for the representation and display of the discrete surfaces of such structures; a way to calculate a hologram by the superposition of the Fresnel pattern from the individual planes of a CT scan; and computer graphics tools under development for processing multidimensional cardiovascular data.