Maximum intensity projection by 3-dimensional seed filling in view lattice

In this paper we evaluate the performance of a seed filling algorithm operating in view lattice when rendering maximum intensity projections (MIP). We evaluate the combination of the seed filling algorithm and the template algorithm. We show that the template algorithm is a particularly attractive companion to the seed filling algorithm, because the template algorithm allows stepping in all six directions within the resampled data set with very few instructions and without conditional branches. The results also indicate that given a reasonable low-level threshold for empty voxels the MIP projection can be calculated in real time with standard desktop workstations. In addition we observe that the performance of our seed filling algorithm stays relatively constant with different viewing angles, as opposed to the template algorithm alone. We plan to apply our new volume rendering techniques in two new projects partially supported by the European Union; `Intraoperative Real-time Visualization and Instrument Tracking in MRI' (IRVIT-ESPRIT P27230) and `Mobile Medical Data' (MOMEDA).