Study and application of medical image visualization technology

Abstract

In medical imaging, many applications require visualization and analysis of three-dimensional (3D) objects. Visualization is the process of exploring, transforming, and view data as images to gain understanding and insight into the data, which requires fast interactive speed and high image quality. In this paper, we describe the key techniques in medical image visualization. In order to improve ray casting rendering speed, a synthetically accelerated algorithm is proposed. Firstly, rendering algorithms are fully studied and compared. Secondly, proximity clouds algorithm has been selected and extended to continuous ray casting. Finally, the accelerated algorithm based on ray coherence has been realized. The experimental results on 3D medical image reconstruction are given, which show the medical image visualization technology has provided a powerful technology base for computer-aided diagnosis, virtual surgery and e-learning in medicine field. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2007.