Reliable subsurface scattering for volume rendering in three-dimensional ultrasound imaging

• Published in: Computers in biology and medicine 2020-02, Vol.117, p.103608-103608, Article 103608
• Main Authors: Kwon, Koojoo, Lee, Byeong-Joon, Shin, Byeong-Seok
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Cartesian coordinates; Dark adaptation; Fetuses; Global illumination; Illumination; Image reconstruction; Light; Light effects; Light intensity; Light scattering; Light template; Lighting; Luminous intensity; Magnetic resonance imaging; Medical imaging; Non-Cartesian coordinates; Physical properties; Real time; Rendering; Subsurface scattering; Ultrasonic imaging; Ultrasonic testing; Ultrasound; Visualization; Volume rendering
• ISSN: 0010-4825; 1879-0534
• DOI: 10.1016/j.compbiomed.2020.103608

Light effects have been frequently used in volume rendering because they can depict the shapes of objects more realistically. Global illumination reflects light intensity values at relevant pixel positions of reconstructed images based on the considerations of scattering and extinction phenomena. However, in the cases of ultrasound volumes that do not use Cartesian coordinates, internal lighting operations generate errors owing to the distorted direction of light propagation, and thus increase the amount of light and its effects according to the position of the volume inside. In this study, we present a novel global illumination method with calibrated light along the progression direction in accordance with volume ray casting in non-Cartesian coordinates. In addition, we reduce the consumption of lighting operation in these lighting processes using a light-distribution template. Experimental results show the volume rendering outcomes in non-Cartesian coordinates that realistically visualize the global illumination effect. The light scattering effect is expressed uniformly in the top and bottom areas where many distortions are generated in the ultrasound coordinates by using the light template kernels adaptively. Our method can effectively identify dark areas that are invisible owing to differences in brightness at the upper and lower regions of the ultrasound coordinates. Our method can be used to realistically show the shapes of the fetus during relevant examinations with ultrasonography. •Global illumination reflects light result by considering the scattering effect.•Internal lighting distortion generate error in the ultrasound coordinates.•Provide novel scattering method with calibrated direction of light progression.•Reduce the operation amount for light consumption using light-distribution template.