European researchers working on EUREKA's Odysseus project have devised software to generate accurate, three-dimensional (3D) images of the blood vessels of a patient's liver, a breakthrough that has enhanced medical knowledge of the organ's segmentation. In addition, the project has yielded a system that can transmit the 3D images to outside experts in any location in real time just prior to surgery. Elements of the Odysseus project include Virtual Patient Modeling, which employs patient-specific data to facilitate preoperative evaluation, while the Diagnosis and Virtual Planning software enables navigation and tool positioning within 3D images that can be reassembled from any multimedia-equipped computer. Another element of the project is the Argonaute communication system, which permits several practitioners in different locations to interact and consult on the images concurrently. Realistic physical characteristics of texture and tissue resistance are added to the 3D model of the patient via the unlimited laparoscopic simulator and the robotic surgery simulator, enabling the simulation of surgical intervention before actual surgery. Odysseus will significantly contribute to the precision of tumor diagnosis in the liver and its treatment and will facilitate more accurate diagnosis of secondary liver tumors.