Real-Time Volume Rendering by Network Image Transmission

Highly precise medical image volume rendering requires many medical images. To achieve fast volume rendering, we proposed parallel image processing and hierarchical lossless image compression technique. We proposed a new lossless medical image compression method based on hierarchical sorting technique. In parallel volume rendering, we applied texture based rendering algorism which a 256 3 volume data could be processed in 1/8 sec. Thus, ideally, one 512 3 volume data was processed in 1/8 sec. by processing simultaneously by 8 PCs. However, by the time of volume data transmission, those volume renderings were consumed two seconds. Then hierarchical lossless image compression was applied to volume data. Proposed compression method could extract only the range of a required concentration density with the compression data. By proposed compression method, the transmission volume data size was less then 1/10 as compared with original data size.