(FORTUNE Magazine) – Once the domain of computer nerds, the science of computer graphics is making technological leaps into real-world applications. New graphics products allow technicians in medicine, manufacturing, and defense to turn two-dimensional X- rays and photographs into remarkably clear three-dimensional images. Leading the graphics industry's charge is Pixar, a company in San Rafael, California, started by computer scientists at movie mogul George Lucas's studio, Lucasfilm Ltd. Pixar's machine originally was used to produce high- tech animation for films like Return of the Jedi and Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn. Now the company's new chairman, Apple Computer founder Steve Jobs, is pushing it outside Hollywood. The heart of Pixar's offerings is a speedy $79,000 computer that renders sophisticated images on its screen. Pictures captured by X-ray machines, medical CAT-scanners, and weather and spy satellites are processed by the Pixar computer into three-dimensional images that can be rotated on-screen for a variety of views. The machine is in a class by itself so far, but competition is bound to grow. Radiologists and orthopedic surgeons are praising the new machine. Says Dr. Elliot Fishman, a radiologist at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore: ''Surgery is in three dimensions and CAT scans are only in two. More than 25% of the time, doctors change their strategy once they've seen a Pixar image.''