Display of 3D information in discrete 3D scenes produced by computerized tomography

Imaging modalities such as X-ray computerized tomography (CT), ultrasound CT, and nuclear magnetic resonance CT all produce sequences of slice images of internal structures of medical objects. Effective methods of displaying the 3D information in such images are essential to aid in both diagnosis and treatment of diseases. Two philosophically different approaches to the display problem have been pursued. In the first approach, 3D information is displayed as a distribution of densities in a 3D space. The second approach extracts, from slice images, information about boundary surfaces of objects which is displayed on a 2D screen. The present paper reviews both of these approaches with particular emphasis on the image and graphics processing aspects of the latter approach.