Patent ID: 7019745

Claim:
A three-dimensional image display apparatus for displaying a three-dimensional image by shading a volume image constructed by aligning a plurality of tomograms and projecting it on a projection plane using a volume rendering method where, in an algorithm for shading, light beams are radiated from a virtual light source set outside the volume image and pixel values on the projection plane are calculated based on the reflectivity and the density gradient of the light beams at the respective pixels of the volume image, the three-dimensional image display apparatus including luminescence ratio allocating means for allocating a luminescence ratio for amplifying light beams entering the pixels representing a particular object to be emphasized in the display and calculating means for calculating pixel values on the projection plane by adding the above-allocated luminescence ratio as a parameter of a shading calculation in the volume rendering method, wherein the particular object to which the luminescence is allocated is emphasized in the display.