This paper presents the basic concept of Camera-Augmented Mobile C-arm (CAMC) and a set of its possible applications. A CCD camera is attached to a mobile C-arm uoroscopy X-ray system. Both optical and X-ray imaging systems are calibrated in the same coordinate system in an off-line process. The new system is able to provide X-ray and optical images simultaneously. This system was first used for on-line estimation of X-ray projection geometry for low cost mobile C-arms, which do not guarantee the reproducibility of their motion. The CAMC framework has great potentials for medical augmented reality. In this paper we introduce two new CAMC applications. They are quite different and could be subject of two separate detailed papers for a medical conference. Here we only aim at briefly introducing these two new concepts to the Augmented Reality (AR) research community. The first application aims at merging video images with pre-computed tomographic reconstruction of 3D volume of interest. This is a logical continuation of our work on 3D reconstruction using a CAMC. The second approach is a totally new CAMC design where using a double mirror system and an appropriate calibration procedure the X-ray and optical images are merged in real-time. This new system enables the user to see optical image, X-ray image, or an augmented image where visible and invisible are combined in real-time. The paper is organized in two more or less independent sections describing each of the above. Experimental results are provided at the same time as the methods and apparatus are described for each section.     «

This paper presents the basic concept of Camera-Augmented Mobile C-arm (CAMC) and a set of its possible applications. A CCD camera is attached to a mobile C-arm uoroscopy X-ray system. Both optical and X-ray imaging systems are calibrated in the same coordinate system in an off-line process. The new system is able to provide X-ray and optical images simultaneously. This system was first used for on-line estimation of X-ray projection geometry for low cost mobile C-arms, which do not guarantee th...     »