Dynamic template-based method for three-dimensional virtual-endoscopic exploration
Martin L. Brady, Krishnan Ramaswamy, Srinivasan Rajagopalan, William Evan Higgins · Optical Engineering · 1999
Three-dimensional (3D) digital images arise in many radio- logic imaging applications. In an application such as virtual endoscopy, interactive navigation through the 3D image data—i.e., the interactive creation of an animated sequence of views—can reveal more informa- tion than single static two-dimensional (2D) views. For this case, the 3D image acts as a ''virtual environment,'' representing the imaged struc- tures, and a computer-based system can serve as a tool for navigating through the environment. But such navigation must occur at interactive speeds if it is to be practical. This demands fast volume visualization from arbitrary viewpoints. We present an inexpensive, fast, volume- rendering method that can generate a sequence of views at interactive speeds. The method is motivated by a template-based approach and the temporal-coherence concept. The method forms part of an integrated system for virtual-endoscopic exploration of 3D radiologic images. Picto- rial and numerical results illustrate the effectiveness of the method. © 1999 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers. (S0091-3286(99)01312-4) Subject terms: virtual endoscopy; volume rendering; three-dimensional imaging; volume visualization; endoscopy simulation; virtual bronchoscopy; pulmonary im- aging.