Real-time incremental visualization of dynamic ultrasound volumes using parallel BSP trees

We present a method for producing real-time volume visualizations of continuously captured, arbitrarily-oriented 2D arrays (slices) of data. Our system constructs a 3D representation on-the-fly from incoming 2D ultrasound slices by modeling and rendering the slices as planar polygons with translucent surface textures. We use binary space partition (BSP) tree data structures to provide non-intersecting, visibility-ordered primitives for accurate opacity accumulation images. New in our system is a method of using parallel, time-shifted BSP trees to efficiently manage the continuously captured ultrasound data and to decrease the variability in image generation time between output frames. This technique is employed in a functioning real-time augmented reality system that a physician has used to examine human patients prior to breast biopsy procedures. We expect the technique can be used for real-time visualization of any 2D data being collected from a tracked sensor moving along an arbitrary path.