The December 2023 issue of IEEE Spectrum is here!

Close bar

Brain Beauty Contest

Computer modelers compete to show neurosurgeons the best path to the tumor

1 min read

Here we see the brain structures surrounding the surgeon’s approach path [gray]. Magenta indicates a tumor; light coral, blood vessels; yellow, functional areas; and the tangle of rainbow colored strands are the neuronal fibers.

Plotting the path to a brain tumor first requires a map. As part of next week’s VisWeek conference, the 2010 IEEE Visualization Contest pitted graphics teams from both industry and academia against one another to see who could best draw that map. Each team transformed the same sets of MRI data into unique, and sometimes bizarre, pictures of the safest paths through the brain. Neurosurgeons decided the winner.

Next year’s contest to model the turbulence from a fluid pump is already accepting submissions.

If you are viewing this page with an iPad or iPhone, click here to launch the slideshow:
/ns/slideshows/10W_SlideS_Visualization_iPad/index.html

The Conversation (0)