710253Holographic Volumetric 3D Displays for Medical VisualisationClosedGRD Proof of ConceptInnovate UKThe project is about making a volumetric display capable of addressing up to one million voxels, or volume elements (“3D pixels”) addressed in 3D (x,y,z) space. The voxels are generated holographically in a volume of real physical space (in mid-air). This volumetric space depicts a series of volume slices from a medical scanning device. The display can lie flat and enable a full 360 degree walk-around by multiple viewers. Medical technology has been improving at a rapid pace over the past decade with Ultrasound, CT, PET and MRI scanners increasing in performance. These generate 3D imagery as a series of 2D slices through the body. Whereas it is easy to generate this 3D data, unfortunately, it has proven very difficult to visualise, much to the frustration of the medical community. Hence, there is a serious need to address this imbalance. The holographic display is based on a new type of patent-pending switchable composite holographic optical element, an optical switching matrix, an embedded controller and a projection/display subsystem. The project will develop the key components of the display with the aim of integrating these into a proof-of-concept demonstrator. This breakthrough innovation will meet an urgent demand from the medical community for a true 3D display that can match the sophistication of current scanning devices. The display is able to generate both realtime images from Ultrasound scanners to aid live surgery; or it can be used in diagnostics with easy manipulation of 3D volume data.