Fast processing of medical images using a new parallel architecture, the Hybrid System

This paper describes an implementation of volume rendering on a new parallel architectural system, the Hybrid System. The Hybrid System is a combination of a SIMD system with a MIMD system. For such an architecture, we have developed a new volume rendering algorithm called slice orientation. Using this new parallel architecture on the visualization algorithm, we have achieved speed-up rates more than its corresponding MIMD can achieve alone. In this paper, we also present a general formula for determining the speedup of the Hybrid System so that accurate predictions can be made on the performance of the Hybrid System.