An interactive 3D medical visualization system based on a light field display

We present a prototype medical data visualization system exploiting a light field display and custom direct volume rendering techniques to enhance understanding of massive volumetric data, such as CT, MRI, and PET scans. The system can be integrated with standard medical image archives and extends the capabilities of current radiology workstations by supporting real-time rendering of volumes of potentially unlimited size on light field displays generating dynamic observer-independent light fields. The system allows multiple untracked naked-eye users in a sufficiently large interaction area to coherently perceive rendered volumes as real objects, with stereo and motion parallax cues. In this way, an effective collaborative analysis of volumetric data can be achieved. Evaluation tests demonstrate the usefulness of the generated depth cues and the improved performance in understanding complex spatial structures with respect to standard techniques.

[1]  Ingo Relke,et al.  Three-dimensional multiview large projection system , 2005, IS&T/SPIE Electronic Imaging.

[2]  John W. Roberts,et al.  Display characteristics and the impact on usability for stereo , 2000, Electronic Imaging.

[3]  Mark E. Lucente,et al.  Scaling up the MIT holographic video system , 1995, Other Conferences.

[4]  Stéphane Ploix,et al.  A perceptive evaluation of volume rendering techniques , 2007, TAP.

[5]  N A Dodgson,et al.  Analysis of the viewing zone of the Cambridge autostereoscopic display. , 1996, Applied optics.

[6]  Enrico Gobbetti,et al.  Scalable rendering of massive triangle meshes on light field displays , 2008, Comput. Graph..

[7]  Gregg E. Favalora,et al.  Occlusion-capable multiview volumetric three-dimensional display. , 2007, Applied optics.

[8]  Enrico Gobbetti,et al.  GPU Accelerated Direct Volume Rendering on an Interactive Light Field Display , 2008, Comput. Graph. Forum.

[9]  A Pieter Kappetein,et al.  Virtual reality 3D echocardiography in the assessment of tricuspid valve function after surgical closure of ventricular septal defect , 2007, Cardiovascular ultrasound.

[10]  Stefan Bruckner,et al.  Style Transfer Functions for Illustrative Volume Rendering , 2007, Comput. Graph. Forum.

[11]  Ruigang Yang,et al.  Toward the Light Field Display: Autostereoscopic Rendering via a Cluster of Projectors , 2008, IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics.

[12]  David S. Ebert,et al.  Instant Volumetric Understanding with Order‐Independent Volume Rendering , 2004, Comput. Graph. Forum.

[13]  M. Huebschman,et al.  Dynamic holographic 3-D image projection. , 2003, Optics express.

[14]  Joshua Napoli,et al.  Volumetric three-dimensional display system with rasterization hardware , 2001, IS&T/SPIE Electronic Imaging.

[15]  Steven Mason,et al.  Membrane-mirror-based autostereoscopic display for tele-operation and teleprescence applications , 2000, Electronic Imaging.

[16]  William A. Crossland,et al.  Novel electro-optic modulator system for the production of dynamic images from giga-pixel computer-generated holograms , 2000, Electronic Imaging.

[17]  Nikolaus F. Troje,et al.  Enhancing Depth Perception in Translucent Volumes , 2006, IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics.

[18]  Gregg E. Favalora.  Volumetric 3D displays and application infrastructure , 2005, Computer.

[19]  Graham John Woodgate,et al.  Flat-panel autostereoscopic displays: characterization and enhancement , 2000, Electronic Imaging.

[20]  D. W. Parker,et al.  Multiview 3D LCD , 1996, Electronic Imaging.

[21]  Mark J. Rivard,et al.  Radiation therapy planning using a volumetric 3-D display: PerspectaRAD , 2008, Electronic Imaging.

[22]  Hideshi Yamada,et al.  Rendering for an interactive 360° light field display , 2007, ACM Trans. Graph..

[23]  Colin Ware,et al.  Evaluating stereo and motion cues for visualizing information nets in three dimensions , 1996, TOGS.

[24]  Hideshi Yamada,et al.  Rendering for an Interactive 360 ◦ Light Field Display , 2007 .

[25]  Neil A. Dodgson,et al.  A time-sequential multi-projector autostereoscopic display , 2000 .

[26]  Enrico Gobbetti,et al.  A single-pass GPU ray casting framework for interactive out-of-core rendering of massive volumetric datasets , 2008, The Visual Computer.

[27]  Enrico Gobbetti,et al.  A Scalable Hardware and Software System for the Holographic Display of Interactive Graphics Applications , 2005, Eurographics.