NOTE: VirtualVolume is provided for entertainment and educational purposes only. It is NOT FDA approved.

NOTE: You must have a Macintosh in order to import data into VirtualVolume.

VirtualVolume allows you to view DICOM MRI or CT scan volume data in real time on your iPhone or iPod Touch.

VirtualVolume is the only viewer for iPhone that allows you to view volume cross-sections in any direction. The iPhone’s accelerometer allows for incredibly natural and intuitive viewing of any volume. It’s as if you were holding the volume in your hands!

Bonjour support makes it simple load data from your desktop via OsiriX. You can even send scans to your colleagues directly from phone to phone.

First, you’ll need to get the freeware application OsiriX. OsiriX is a general purpose application for viewing radiological scans. You use OsiriX to view volumes on your desktop and transfer them to your iPhone or iPod Touch.

VirtualVolume

On startup, VirtualVolume shows your library of studies. Some high quality samples are ready for you to download. To download your own scans, open them in OsiriX and select Plugins->Others->VirtualVolume from the main menu.

The main viewer is meant to be used in a landscape orientation. Simply tilt your iPhone and the slice will follow your movements. Imagine that your phone is a plane cutting through the volume along the direction you wish to view. Directional markers on all four sides keep you oriented with left, right, anterior, posterior, superior, and inferior indicators.

Use the thumbwheel on the right side to move the slice shallower or deeper in the volume.

Use the lock on the upper left to freeze the current view.

Use the interpolation button on the lower left to switch between low and high quality rendering.

Then you’ll need to install the VirtualVolume plugin. After downloading and uncompressing the zip file, just double-click on it and it will automatically be installed for OsiriX.

You can find detailed instructions on importing data to your iPhone here.

Touching the ruler on the center left allows you to make measurements on your scan. Position the crosshairs on your points of interest. Note that the crosshairs are slightly inset from the circularhandles that you use to move the ruler.

Use your thumb and forefinger in a twisting motion to spin the volume by 90 degree increments.

Use three fingers to swipe left, right, up, or down to rotate the volume by 90 degrees in any direction. This can be kind of tricky. If you have trouble, try holding down all three fingers until the image freezes, then swipe slowly in your desired direction.

Tap anywhere to bring up the navigation bar. The “Done” button brings you back to your library. Tap “Send” to send this volume to anyone on your network running VirtualVolume.