The best rendering process for this type of image consists of displaying only the very brightest voxel along each ray, producing a solid image of the tissues reached by the agent. Another rendering method sometimes used is to simply add all the voxel colors and opacities together like a stack of transparencies, which yields the functional equivalent of a standard X-ray. The medical profession is making the most extensive use of volume-rendering technology, but other fields have begun to take advantage of the technology as well. Geologists can get a picture of what lies underground without having to extract a single core sample. By analyzing the sound waves produced by a carefully placed explosion, geologists can get a volume whose renderings show a realistic picture of how various mineral and rock deposits are positioned in relation to each other.
Engineers can identify imperfections in a machine part before the thing actually breaks.
Meteorologists can get a more coherent model of Earth's atmosphere than is possible with a 2-D chart of highs and lows. While volume rendering won't advance our ability to gather data in any of these fields, it will go a long way toward helping us understand what the data means. Wired Digital Inc. All rights reserved.