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February 2005 - Vol. 48 No. 2

February 2005 issue cover image

Features

Opinion Editorial pointers Feb 1 2005

Editorial Pointers

An article in today’s paper describes Ray Kurzweil’s quest for longevity, noting the distinguished computer scientist’s confidence in the flourishing partnership of medical science and computer science for making his personal ambition a reality. Although the road he’s taken is uncharted—and seriously unconventional—it recognizes the unprecedented potential of recent advancements in medical tools that not […]
Architecture and Hardware
News News track Feb 1 2005

News Track

The good news is the video game industry is exploding, with a global market that was expected to exceed $35 billion by year-end 2004. The bad news is the legion of programmers working under pressure to churn out hits for the game industry is burning out at a rapid rate. A recent survey by the […]
Computing Applications
Opinion Forum Feb 1 2005

Forum

The "Viewpoint" by Norman Matloff ("Globalization and the American IT Worker," Nov. 2004) was offensive and its publication in Communications inappropriate. Its point was impossible to miss: The U.S. should take action to preserve its economic superiority in IT, as well as its superiority in innovation. High-paying, high-technology jobs should be kept in the U.S. […]
Computing Applications
Opinion President's letter Feb 1 2005

Why Join Acm?

Nearing the end of a talk I gave at Google recently, I turned to the subject of becoming a member of ACM. I’ve come to realize that some people are just joiners while others want to know what they get for their money. Baby boomers like me tend to be joiners, but everyone likely seeks […]
Computing Applications
News SIGs elections Feb 1 2005

Sigs Announce Candidates For Election

In accordance with ACM Bylaw 6, the following SIGs will hold elections this spring: SIGACT, SIGAda, SIGAPL, SIGAPP, SIGART, SIGBED, SIGCAS, SIGDA, SIGDOC, SIGEcom, SIGGRAPH, SIGITE, SIGKDD, SIGMETRICS, SIGMICRO, SIGMIS, SIGMOBILE, SIGMOD, SIGMultiMedia, SIGPLAN, SIGSAC, SIGSIM, SIGSOFT, SIGUCCS and SIGWEB. ACM Policy and Procedures require that those SIGs holding elections notify their membership of candidates […]
Computing Applications
Opinion Hot links Feb 1 2005

Top 10 Downloads from Acm’s Digital Library

Communications of the ACM Volume 48, Number 2 (2005), Pages 23-24 Hot links: Top 10 downloads from ACM’s digital library Diane Crawford Table of Contents Tables Back to Top Tables Table. The Top 10 Most Popular Papers from ACM’s Refereed Journals and Conference Proceedings Downloaded in November 2004 Table. The 10 Most Popular Courses and […]
Computing Applications
Research and Advances Medical image modeling tools and applications Feb 1 2005

Introduction

Medical image analysis and modeling are essential to many fields of medicine, including radiology, surgery, and medical education. Traditionally, doctors have based their practice on 2D images, such as those produced from scanners and microscopes. This limits them from accurately seeing and understanding the 3D organ structure and function that is often crucial for the timely diagnosis and appropriate treatment of disease. The significant increase in computing power in recent years has allowed the development of powerful new 3D image analysis and visualization algorithms that promise to change the way medicine is practiced. The ability to visualize a body's internal structures and functions in 3D will allow doctors to improve their current practice and may lead to the discovery of new knowledge.
Architecture and Hardware
Research and Advances Medical image modeling tools and applications Feb 1 2005

Hepatic Surgery Simulation

The goal of surgical simulation is to provide highly realistic training to increase the diffusion of innovative and less-invasive procedures while decreasing the surgeon's learning curve. Consider, for instance, the development and refinement of laparoscopic surgery. In this type of surgery, abdominal operations such as hepatic (liver) resections are accomplished through small incisions. The abdomen of the patient is inflated with gas to create open space inside and a video camera is inserted into the abdomen through one of the small incisions. The video image is magnified and transmitted to a high-resolution monitor, allowing the surgeon to see the abdominal anatomy with great clarity. The surgery is performed using special instruments introduced through the other incisions. The advantages of surgical simulation for the patient include less pain and less strain for the body, faster recovery, and reduced overall illness time. The surgeon, however, must acquire specific skills and develop advanced hand-eye coordination before attempting to perform such a procedure in a real-world setting.
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Computing Applications
Research and Advances Medical image modeling tools and applications Feb 1 2005

Virtual Colonoscopy

A computer-graphics-based alternative to conventional optical colonoscopy, known as virtual colonoscopy (VC) or computed tomography colonography (CTC), is rapidly gaining popularity. During this procedure, which was concurrently developed by our group at Stony Brook University [5] and by other researchers [10], the distended colon is imaged by a helical or multislice CT scanner. The acquired abdominal CT scan commonly consists of 350--750 axial images of 512x512 sub-millimeter resolution, providing excellent contrast between the colon wall and the lumen. A 3D model of the colon is then reconstructed from the CT scan by automatically segmenting the colon out of the rest of the abdomen and employing an electronic cleansing algorithm for computer-based removal of the residual material. The PC-based visualization software employs volume rendering and allows the user, typically a physician, to interactively navigate through the virtual 3D model of the colon. An intuitive user interface with customized tools supports measurements and virtual biopsy to inspect suspicious regions. Unlike optical colonoscopy (see the sidebar "Conventional Colorectal Cancer Screening"), VC is patient friendly since the patient undergoes less rigorous preparation prior to the procedure. VC is also a fast, noninvasive, highly accurate, cost-effective method for mass screening of colon polyps.
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Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
Research and Advances Medical image modeling tools and applications Feb 1 2005

Volumetric Heart Modeling and Analysis

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the Western world and consequently the study of normal and pathological heart behavior is an active research area. In particular, the study of the shape and motion of the heart is important because many heart diseases are strongly correlated to these two factors. The human heart is composed of two separate pumps: a right heart that pumps the blood through the lungs and a left heart that pumps the blood through the peripheral organs. In turn, each of these "hearts" is a two-chamber pump composed of an atrium and a ventricle. Special mechanisms in the heart provide cardiac rhythm and transmit action potentials throughout the heart muscle to cause the heart's rhythmic relaxation (diastole) and contraction (systole).
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Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
Research and Advances Medical image modeling tools and applications Feb 1 2005

Incorporating 3D Virtual Anatomy Into the Medical Curriculum

The introduction of the Visible Human Project by Ackerman in 1995, described in the seminal paper in 1996 [9], brought a promise to anatomists that these two frozen, milled, and digitized cadavers---the Visible Male and Female---would revolutionize anatomy teaching by providing the most complete and detailed anatomical images ever. This vision could be compared to the proverbial "man on the moon" program for medical education and has proven to be much more challenging than expected. Although the ramifications of this project are not of the same scale as the shock created five centuries ago by the Padua physician Andreas Vesalius when he challenged the ancient Greek physician Galen's description of the human body, the original interest created by the availability of the Visible Human data was enormous.
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Architecture and Hardware
Research and Advances Medical image modeling tools and applications Feb 1 2005

Open Source Software For Medical Image Processing and Visualization

Societies often create smaller subsets or communities that connect with one another for commerce and intellectual exchange over mutual interests. In science and engineering, the need for communication among researchers is often hampered by artificial barriers of university politics, economic market forces, and the sheer momentum of an academic reward structure that values individual discovery over joint development. Recent initiatives have attempted to reduce some of these barriers, encouraging collaborative multidisciplinary research programs. Through this effort, we have studied the processes that lead to the successful foundation of new communities.
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Architecture and Hardware
News Professional de-charter notice Feb 1 2005

Notice of Intent to De-Charter Professional Chapters

ACM is considering the de-charter of the following chapters due to inactivity. Members interested in revitalizing their chapters should contact Lauren Ryan, Local Activities Coordinator, at local_activities@acm.org. ACM will terminate the chapters listed below after 90 days unless interested volunteers express a desire to reactivate their chapter by redoing their bylaws and preparing acceptable revitalization […]
Computing Applications
News Student de-charter notice Feb 1 2005

Notice of Intent to De-Charter Student Chapters

ACM is considering the de-charter of the following chapters due to inactivity. Members interested in revitalizing their chapters should contact Lauren Ryan, Local Activities Coordinator, at local_activities@acm.org. ACM will terminate the chapters listed below after 90 days unless interested volunteers express a desire to reactivate their chapter by redoing their bylaws and preparing acceptable revitalization […]
Computing Applications
Research and Advances Feb 1 2005

Centralization Momentum: the Pendulum Swings Back Again

Discussing whether IT architecture should be centralized or decentralized is as old as the technology itself. We propose that, notwithstanding the various perspectives that have been brought to the debate, what is missing thus far is the seesaw between centralization and decentralization. The reasons for this important phenomenon relate not only to IT-centric issues but also to current events pervading other areas of the organization. One key issue is how management has changed its IT focus from a "must have/keeping up with the Joneses" investment to a value-based "where's the beef?" approach pragmatically emphasizing the relevance of data and its uses. A second consideration is the business requirements for a reliable, available, fault-tolerant, backed-up, secure IT environment, even in the face of catastrophic events, including the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Executives cannot afford to not know why the renewed focus on IT architecture centralization has happened and how it might affect their organizations.
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Architecture and Hardware
Research and Advances Feb 1 2005

Evaluating Information Security Investments -sing the Analytic Hierarchy Process

In today's information-based economy, organizations must avoid costly information security breaches. Unfortunately, organizations cannot make all of their information 100% secure all of the time. There are economic, as well as technical, impediments that prevent perfect information security. Accordingly, organizations usually prepare an annual fixed (limited) budget for the maintenance and improvement of their information security systems. Two key issues confront the chief information security officer (CISO) of an organization: how to spend this limited information security budget most effectively, and how to make the case to the organization's chief financial officer (CFO) for an increase in funds to further enhance the organization's information security. The primary objective of this article is to show how to use the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) to address these two information security issues.
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Architecture and Hardware
Research and Advances Feb 1 2005

The Value of Mobile Applications: a Utility Company Study

Mobile and wireless devices are enabling organizations to conduct business more effectively. Mobile applications can be used to support e-commerce with customers and suppliers, and to conduct e-business within and across organizational boundaries. Despite these benefits, organizations and their customers still lack an understanding of the value of mobile applications. Value is defined here as the principles for evaluating the consequences of action, inaction, or decision [4]. The value proposition of mobile applications can be defined as the net value of the benefits and costs associated with the adoption and adaptation of mobile applications [2].
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Architecture and Hardware
Opinion Inside risks Feb 1 2005

Responsibilities of Technologists

Around the world, our lives are increasingly dependent on technology. What should be the responsibilities of technologists regarding technological and nontechnological issues? Solving real-world problems often requires technological expertise as well as sufficient understanding of a range of economic, social, political, national, and international implications. Although it may be natural to want to decouple technology […]
Computing Applications

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