Patent ID: 7995057

Claim:
A computer-implemented method for co-rendering multiple attributes in a three-dimensional data volume, which comprises: selecting a first attribute volume defined by a first attribute and a second attribute volume defined by a second attribute, the first attribute volume and the second attribute volume occupying a three-dimensional space; creating a three-dimensional sampling probe, wherein the sampling probe is a subvolume of the first attribute volume and the second attribute volume; rendering an image of the sampling probe using a graphics card, the image comprising an intersection of the sampling probe, the first attribute volume and the second attribute volume; repeating the rendering step in response to movement of the sampling probe within each attribute volume so that as the sampling probe moves through each attribute volume, the image of the sampling probe is rendered at a rate sufficiently fast to be perceived as moving in real-time on a display device; and displaying at least a portion of the image of the sampling probe on the display device as it is rendered.