title: Realistic and interactive high-resolution 4D environments for real-time surgeon and patient interaction.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Remote consultations that are realistic enough to be useful medically offer considerable clinical, logistical and cost benefits. Despite advances in virtual reality and vision hardware and software, these benefits are currently often unrealised.
  
  
  METHODS
  The proposed approach combines high spatial and temporal resolution 3D and 2D machine vision with virtual reality techniques, in order to develop new environments and instruments that will enable realistic remote consultations and the generation of new types of useful clinical data.
  
  
  RESULTS
  New types of clinical data have been generated for skin analysis and respiration measurement; and the combination of 3D with 2D data was found to offer potential for the generation of realistic virtual consultations.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  An innovative combination of high resolution machine vision data and virtual reality online methods, promises to provide advanced functionality and significant medical benefits, particularly in regions where populations are dispersed or access to clinicians is limited. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
authors.affiliation: Department of Engineering, Design and Mathematics, University of the West of England, Bristol, UK.
authors.forename: L N
authors.initials: LN
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.affiliation: Department of Engineering, Design and Mathematics, University of the West of England, Bristol, UK.
authors.forename: A R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Farooq
authors.affiliation: Department of Engineering, Design and Mathematics, University of the West of England, Bristol, UK.
authors.forename: M L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.affiliation: Department of Engineering, Design and Mathematics, University of the West of England, Bristol, UK.
authors.forename: I E
authors.initials: IE
authors.lastname: Ivanov
authors.affiliation: Department of Engineering, Design and Mathematics, University of the West of England, Bristol, UK.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Orlando
mesh_terms: D003199:Computer Systems; D046169:Dermoscopy / Q000295:instrumentation*; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000295:instrumentation; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional / Q000295:instrumentation*; D008328:Man-Machine Systems; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D019114:Remote Consultation / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D012867:Skin / Q000473:pathology*; D012984:Software; D066231:Surgeons; D014584:User-Computer Interface; D000076142:Virtual Reality
keywords: 3d imaging; cancer; capture of new types of clinical data; computer assisted surgery; general surgery; machine vision; modelling; plastic surgery; realistic interactive high-resolution 4D environments; remote medical consultancy/diagnosis; sensors; virtual reality; vision