Abstract: A three-dimensional geometric image of an anatomical region is generated from a plurality of two-dimensional echographic image slices of the region. The image slices are filtered using a reaction-diffusion partial differential equation model before being arranged into a voxel space. Each voxel is then assigned a voxel value to create a volumetric data set from which the volumetric image can be rendered. The image is rendered from far to near, relative to a preset viewing direction, by an alpha-blending process. The alpha value at any given voxel can be determined using the magnitude of the density gradient vector at that voxel. Similarly, the direction of the density gradient vector at a given voxel can be used as a surface normal vector for shading purposes at that voxel.

Abstract: A three-dimensional geometric image of an anatomical region is generated from a plurality of two-dimensional echographic image slices of the region. The image slices are filtered using a reaction-diffusion partial differential equation model before being arranged into a voxel space. Each voxel is then assigned a voxel value to create a volumetric data set from which the volumetric image can be rendered. The image is rendered from far to near, relative to a preset viewing direction, by an alpha-blending process. The alpha value at any given voxel can be determined using the magnitude of the density gradient vector at that voxel. Similarly, the direction of the density gradient vector at a given voxel can be used as a surface normal vector for shading purposes at that voxel.