Research of On-line 3-Dimensional Volume Visualization from Ultrasound Echogram

本研究的目的是将三维体绘制技术与超声成像设备相结合，开发一种可应用于医疗诊断的在线三维可视化系统。虽然三维体绘制技术已经研究多年，但将成像设备和体绘制引擎直接连接起来的报道还未见报道。本研究开发的系统是首批可用于实际医疗诊断的系统之一。超声成像设备产生的图像质量低于核磁共振成像设备，但它具有产生实时图像的潜力。该系统通过连接成像设备和渲染计算机，利用高速计算机网络，可以重建出几乎实时的动画图像。我们还开发了高速并行体绘制算法，以实现更高的绘制性能。

The objective of the research is to develop an on-line 3-D visualization system by combining 3-D volume rendering technique and ultrasound imaging device, The system can be applied for medical diagnosis. While 3-D volume rendering technique has been investigated many years, direct connection of imaging devices and volume rendering engine has not been reported. The system developed in the research is one of the first one that can be used for practical medical diagnosis. Ultrasound imaging devices produce lower quality images than MRI imaging devices, but it has potentiality to produce real-time images. The system can reconstruct nearly real-time animation images by connecting imaging devices and rendering computer using high speed computer network. We also developed high speed parallel volume rendering algorithm to achieve higher rendering performance.