An imaging system, comprising: an X-ray radiation source configured to emit radiation that traverses an examination region; a detector array configured to detect radiation that traverses an examination region and generate a signal indicative thereof, wherein the detected radiation is for a 3-D prescan; a reconstructor configured to reconstruct the signal to generate a 2-D prescan projection image; and a console with a processor and a memory, wherein the processor is configured to execute 3-D volume planning instructions in the memory, which causes the processor to: display the 2-D pre-scan projection image (402, 602, 802, 1002) and a scan plan or bounding box (404, 604, 804, 1004) for planning a 3-D volume scan of a region/tissue of interest based on a selected protocol for a 3-D volume scan of a region/tissue of interest being planned; and receive an input confirming or adjusting the scan plan or bounding box to create a 3-D volume scan plan for the 3-D volume scan of the region/tissue of interest, wherein the 3-D volume scan of the region/tissue of interest is performed based on the 3-D volume scan plan; and wherein the console is configured to identify the region/tissue of interest based on the selected scan protocol, obtain a rendering algorithm for the identified region/tissue of interest, and render the 2-D pre-scan projection image of the region/tissue of interest based on the obtained rendering algorithm. an X-ray radiation source configured to emit radiation that traverses an examination region; a detector array configured to detect radiation that traverses an examination region and generate a signal indicative thereof, wherein the detected radiation is for a 3-D prescan; a reconstructor configured to reconstruct the signal to generate a 2-D prescan projection image; and a console with a processor and a memory, wherein the processor is configured to execute 3-D volume planning instructions in the memory, which causes the processor to: display the 2-D pre-scan projection image (402, 602, 802, 1002) and a scan plan or bounding box (404, 604, 804, 1004) for planning a 3-D volume scan of a region/tissue of interest based on a selected protocol for a 3-D volume scan of a region/tissue of interest being planned; and receive an input confirming or adjusting the scan plan or bounding box to create a 3-D volume scan plan for the 3-D volume scan of the region/tissue of interest, display the 2-D pre-scan projection image (402, 602, 802, 1002) and a scan plan or bounding box (404, 604, 804, 1004) for planning a 3-D volume scan of a region/tissue of interest based on a selected protocol for a 3-D volume scan of a region/tissue of interest being planned; and receive an input confirming or adjusting the scan plan or bounding box to create a 3-D volume scan plan for the 3-D volume scan of the region/tissue of interest, wherein the 3-D volume scan of the region/tissue of interest is performed based on the 3-D volume scan plan; and wherein the console is configured to identify the region/tissue of interest based on the selected scan protocol, obtain a rendering algorithm for the identified region/tissue of interest, and render the 2-D pre-scan projection image of the region/tissue of interest based on the obtained rendering algorithm.