"3D imaging breakthrough" prototype hopes to enable medical diagnostics
OCTOBER 15, 2008 -- 3DIcon Corp. (Tulsa, OK), a development-stage technology company, says it has completed a working prototype of its proprietary three-dimensional display system, CSpace. CSpace, it says, instantaneously creates one-color volumetric 3D images that can be viewed from any angle without viewing aids. The company hopes the technology will enable life-saving applications in medical imaging, including disease diagnosis.
3DIcon reports that CSpace has achieved four significant breakthroughs in the history of 3D displays: 1) the first 360-degree static volumetric 3D display; 2) the first 3D display that does not have mechanical/moving parts; 3) a unique system designed for scalability, making the technology suitable for a wide range of applications; and 4) the highest resolution of any 3D technology, capable of rendering up to eight times the voxels (800 million) compared to other volumetric 3D technologies and resulting in an increase in resolution comparable to that of today's high-definition televisions versus the early tube televisions.
"We have begun talks with potential sub-licensing partners and hope to conclude licensing agreements," stated 3DIcon chairman and CEO Martin Keating.
Dr. Hakki Refai, 3DIcon's chief technology officer and inventor of CSpace, commented, "What makes CSpace widely adoptable is the fact that it is the first 360-degree volumetric technology that is non-mechanical. The first generation of TVs was mechanical and could never be commercialized. The wide adoption of television started only when the non-mechanical TV was invented. CSpace brings the same quantum leap to 3D technology."
The company notes that 3D display has proven to improve accuracy and decrease human error significantly in mission-critical applications. CSpace opens multi-billion-dollar markets to the benefits of 3D display, the says 3DIcon, noting application to several markets beyond medical, including military and homeland security needs, geospatial applications for air traffic control and oil and gas exploration, as well as addressing large markets in entertainment, gaming and advertising.
"The unique design of our CSpace system, which uses Texas Instruments' microchip DMD (Digital Micromirror Device) technology, far surpasses other 3D display systems in its capacity for widespread acceptability and continuous improvement," added Bhaman. "The same micromirror technology is at the heart of DLP systems and is improving exponentially in processing power and resolution while decreasing in size and price. This gives our technology a huge advantage as it moves into the future."
The company's next technology milestone is demonstrating scalability by increasing the image space to four times the current volume in this prototype. Other upcoming milestones include further improving CSpace's render rates to create moving images, as well as displaying additional colors.
3DIcon's proprietary CSpace Volumetric Display System is a static-volume 3D display technology that does not require any special viewing aids like glasses. The system uses a clear volumetric image space, which serves as a 3D screen. The image space used in this prototype is a crystalline matrix with rare-earth up-conversion material. A 3D image is created when invisible laser beams are directed into the image space, exciting the up-conversion materials to create visible light and thus display a volumetric image. This prototype displays a one-color green image in three dimensions.
Creation of the CSpace 3D display system is the result of a multi-disciplinary approach which has included significant achievements in multiple fields including development of electronics, control systems, photonics and optical engineering.
More information:
3DIcon Corporation's CSpace