CardiAssist: developing a support platform for 3D ultrasound

The CardiAssist project under the Health Telematics program of the EU aims at the support of cardiac diagnosis and telecooperation, where ultrasound images play a major role. The consortium consists of manufacturers of ultrasound scanners, research partners and medical universities: 1) GMD, German national research center for information technology; 2) Vingmed Sound, ultrasound manufacturer; 3) TomTec, manufacturer of workstation software for 3-D rendering; 4) University of Trondheim, SINTEF/IDT; 5) University Bonn, Kinderklinik; 6) University Lisbon; 7) Thoraxcenter/Erasmus University Rotterdam. The project uses a 3-fold approach: improving the quality of 3D ultrasound images; integrating an enabling system to impart an in-depth understanding of cardiac diseases through interactive 3D graphics and animation; using 3D ultrasound images together with a corresponding model and a variety of annotations and references as a communication medium between health care professionals (cardiologists, surgeons).