Improving spatial perception of vascular models using supporting anchors and illustrative visualization.

We provide supporting anchors for depth assessment.We describe an algorithm that place the anchors optimal in a view-dependent manner.We introduce a novel and fast real-time hatching scheme that outperforms state-of-the-art methods regarding computation time and memory usage. Display Omitted Incorrect spatial interpretation of 3D vascular models is a main perceptional problem in medical visualization. For improved depth perception, we propose supporting anchors between vascular trees and a cylindrical cutaway that serves as an insight for a virtual resection surface or a path for a tumor ablation. The supporting anchors are optimally arranged in a circular manner such that the depth can be perceived without time-consuming interaction. For improved shape perception and distance-encoding, we additionally employ a novel and fast hatching approach that produces results comparable to state-of-the-art techniques. The advantages of our new visualization approach are demonstrated using the example of laparoscopic liver surgery and confirmed in a quantitative user study with 81 participants. The results show that participants were able to assess relative distances more precisely and were most confident using our illustrative visualization approach.