209F EE West Bldg.
The Multidimensional Image Processing Lab
Tel:814-865-0186
Fax:814-863-5341
Email:weh2@psu.edu
Dr. Higgins' general research interests are in the areas of computer vision, image processing, scientific visualization, 3D/4D imaging, and virtual reality, with applications to multidimensional medical image analysis. His biomedical imaging research primarily focuses on applications to the heart and lungs.
Dr. Higgins has several research grants funded to support studies in the following areas:
1. Devise a noninvasive surgical-planning system for the lungs, by using 3D radiological pulmonary images (the virtual environment ) and computer graphics interaction.
2. Devise a micro-CT scanner for creating extremely high-resolution 3D images of small organs and construct a graphical user-interface system for analyzing such images.
3. Devise automatic computer-based methods for analyzing multidimensional radiological images.
Dr. Higgins maintains active collaborations with groups at the Mayo Clinic and the Division of Physiologic Imaging at the University of Iowa; these groups serve as consultants on several of the grants above.
His laboratory , currently located in 222 Electrical Engineering West, features a large number of high-performance NT-based PCs and Sun workstations. These systems are well-suited to sophisticated graphical display and interaction and real-time processing of high-resolution images.
Color illustrations and demonstrations can be found on his laboratory's website at http://cobb.ee.psu.edu
1. J.M. Reinhardt and W.E. Higgins, book chapter on "Cardiac Image Processing," for The Image and Video Processing Handbook, A.C. Bovik, ed., Academic Press, 1999.
2. K. Ramaswamy and W.E. Higgins, "Interactive dynamic navigation for virtual endoscopy," Computers in Biology and Medicine, vol. 29, 1999.
3. W.E. Higgins, K. Ramaswamy, R.D. Swift, G. McLennan, E.A. Hoffman, "Virtual Bronchoscopy for Three-Dimensional Pulmonary Image Assessment: State Of The Art And Future Needs," Radiographics, vol 18, no. 3, pp. 761-778, May-June 1998.
4. W.E. Higgins and R.D. Swift, "Distributed system for processing 3D medical images," Computers in Biology and Medicine, vol. 27, no. 2, pp. 97-116, March/April 1997.
5. W.E. Higgins, R.A. Karwoski, W.J.T. Spyra, and E.L. Ritman, "System for analyzing true three-dimensional angiograms," IEEE Trans. Medical Imaging, vol. 15, no. 3, pp. 377-385, June 1996.