Real-time 3D volume rendering technique on a massively parallel       supercomputer

Rachael Brady; Clinton S. Potter

doi:10.1117/12.59596

26 June 1992 Real-time 3-D volume rendering technique on a massively parallel supercomputer

Rachael Brady, Clinton S. Potter

Proceedings Volume 1660, Biomedical Image Processing and Three-Dimensional Microscopy; (1992) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.59596
Event: SPIE/IS&T 1992 Symposium on Electronic Imaging: Science and Technology, 1992, San Jose, CA, United States

Abstract

We present a simple 3-D true color volume rendering technique which we have implemented on a 32,768 processor Connection Machine 2 (CM2). This technique weights the data along the line of sight to produce depth cuing information and control the opacity of the volume. We then perform an orthographic projection where the maximum value or sum is taken along each ray to create the image. Rendering identical sight angles with different opacity settings for the red, green, and blue planes of a true color display device creates a unique color image that is easy to interpret. Rotating the volume for each rendered frame enables the scientist to comprehend the 3-D spatial structure of the data. Our implementation on a 32 k CM2 can rotate, render, and display a 643 volume at the rate of five frames per second. This frame rate can be maintained while the rendering parameters and rotation angles vary. Rendering at high frame rates allows the scientist to draw substantial structural information from large data sets. Our rendering technique has been applied to data volumes from 3-D NMR microscopy, CT scans, electron microscope serial sections, confocal microscopy, and 3- D astrophysical simulations. It has also been used to visualize 3-D data sets that evolve over time.

Citation Download Citation

Rachael Brady and Clinton S. Potter "Real-time 3-D volume rendering technique on a massively parallel supercomputer", Proc. SPIE 1660, Biomedical Image Processing and Three-Dimensional Microscopy, (26 June 1992); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.59596

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