Directional 3-D interpolation technique for volume rendering

A 3-D interpolation method is proposed as the preprocessing step for 3-D visualization to compensate the poor interslice resolution in 3-D medical imaging. The proposed method uses the surface information which is obtained at each voxel using local gradients. If the voxel to be interpolated is found on a surface or in its vicinity, interpolation is performed along the direction parallel to the surface; otherwise interpolation is done along the vertical z-direction. Since the method uses correlation information inherent in 3-D data effectively, it can provide the interpolated image which preserves the surface smoothness and also reduces the interpolation error near the surface. As experimental results, volume rendering and cut-view images of interpolated 3-D medical data are presented.<>