Aims of the Work Group Visual Computing in Biology in Medicine

Uniting academic expertise since 2003

The work group was founded in 2003 with a first meeting in Magdeburg. Its principle goals are:

  • Exchange between researchers and developers – computer scientists, engineers, and natural scientists – about image analysis, visualisation, and interaction techniques in image-based diagnostics and therapy as well as software tools implied.
  • Exchange between medical scientists and developers especially in the field of computer-aided therapy planning. To each group meeting at least one medical scientist shall be invited and hold a talk.
  • Exchange of expert knowledge and learning materials related to lectures and courses in the field of medical visualisation, virtual reality in medicine, and computer-aided surgery.
  • Discussions among representatives of industry and research institutes, particularly about the relevance of recent developments and the possibility to engage in seminar papers or theses.
  • Exchange with related organizations, in particular with CURAC.
  • Development of a website offering a fast overview of participants, research output, and teaching courses.
  • Awarding of excellent contributions in the field of medical visualisation.

Early Beginnings

At the beginning of the new millenium, the research topic of visual computing found a major field of application: visualizing medical data.
The first meetings of academic enthousiasts was quickly initated. The them-called Arbeitskreis Medizinische Visualisierung offered - and continuously offers workshops - on a regular basis to foster exchange between academics, but also industry representatives.
From the start, the work group took care to establish an enduring links to relevant organizations such as the Gesellschaft für Informatik and the Gesellschaf f¨r Computer- und Roboterassistierte Chirurgie (CURAC). This led to awarding the Karl-Heinz Höhne price from 2004 onwards for outstanding contributions to image rendering methods in medicine. Thanks to the sponsoring by BrainLab AG, Munich, the price is renumerated since 2006.

Future

With the background of more than 25 years of experience, the group will continue to gather academic experts of the field of visual computing.
It will promote the propagation of emerging techniques and contribute to a vivid exchange of research results and ideas.
Therefore we are looking forward to your participating in our annual workshops, propose work of junior researchers to the MedVis Award, and keep up and broaden the fruitful exchange in the group as well as with our partners.