Dynamic Volume Rendering of Functional Medical Data on Dissimilar Hardware Platforms

Abstract

In the last 30 years, medical imaging has become one of the most used diagnostic tools in the medical profession. Computed Tomography (CT) and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) technologies have become widely adopted because of their ability to capture the human body in a non-invasive manner. A volumetric dataset is a series of orthogonal 2D slices captured at a regular interval, typically along the axis of the body from the head to the feet. Volume rendering is a computer graphics technique that allows volumetric data to be visualized and manipulated as a single 3D object. Isosurface rendering, image splatting, shear warp, texture slicing, and raycasting are volume rendering methods, each with associated advantages and disadvantages. Raycasting is widely regarded as the highest quality renderer of these methods.