Abstract: A system and method for rendering a binary volume in a GPU are provided. The method for rendering a binary volume comprises: storing eight bits of the binary volume along an x-axis in a byte of memory to form a compact representation of the binary volume; generating a two-dimensional decoding table of the compact representation of the binary volume; extracting a byte including a bit of interest from the compact representation of the binary volume; determining a bit coordinate for the bit of interest and extracting a decoded value of the bit of interest from the two-dimensional decoding table; obtaining a gray value of the decoded value of the bit of interest and classifying the gray value; and multiplying the decoded value of the bit of interest by the gray value to form a resultant value.

Abstract: A method and system for shading large volumetric data sets using partial derivatives computed in screen-space. The method and system provide a fast and efficient shading a large datasets. Screen space derivatives are computed efficiently by evaluating neighboring pixel information together. The method can be efficiently implemented using GPUs (graphics processing units) that provides some access to information about neighboring pixels using ddx and ddy fragment processing functions.

Abstract: Subsets of volume data are sequentially stored for volume rendering from two dimensional textures. For example, pairs of adjacent two-dimensional images are loaded into RAM or cache. One or more strips of texture data are interpolated for polygons extending between the two-dimensional images. The strips or polygons are more orthogonal to a viewing direction than the two-dimensional images. After interpolating texture data from the two-dimensional images for a plurality of non-coplanar polygons, the texture data is rendered. The rendered information represents one portion of the three dimensional representation. Other portions are rendered by repeating the process for other pairs or subset groups of adjacent two-dimensional images. A lower cost apparatus, such as a programmed computer or a GPU with a limited amount of memory, is able to render images for three dimensional representations of very large three-dimensional arrays. The images may be rendered without copying volume data for different main axes.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for visualizing volume rendered images relative to a viewing vector are provided, where the apparatus includes a processor, a detection unit in signal communication with the processor for detecting occluding contours of opacified structures in the image data, and a resampling unit in signal communication with the processor for generating curved multi-planar-reformat (MPR) resamplings that follow the occluding contours of the opacified structures; and the method includes receiving a volume rendered image, including distance values and surface normals for every pixel that is opacified, gathering all opacified pixels that are orthogonal to the viewing vector into a group of occluding points, and separating the group of occluding points into individual occluding contours.

Abstract: A system and method for polygon-smoothing in texture-based volume rendering is provided. The method comprises the steps of: downsizing a slice polygon and determining boundary polygons around the downsized slice polygon using a smoothing factor, wherein the downsized slice polygon comprises first vertices and the boundary polygons comprise second vertices; generating a falloff ramp between the first vertices of the downsized slice polygon and the second vertices of the boundary polygons; and rendering the downsized slice polygon with texture-based volume rendering and the boundary polygons with texture-based volume rendering and the falloff ramp.