Volumetric image display for complex 3D data visualization

Abstract

A volumetric image display is a new display technology capable of displaying computer generated 3D images in a volumetric space. Many viewers can walk around the display and see the image from omni-directions simultaneously without wearing any glasses. The image is real and possesses all major elements in both physiological and psychological depth cues. Due to the volumetric nature of its image, the VID can provide the most natural human-machine interface in operations involving 3D data manipulation and 3D targets monitoring. The technology creates volumetric 3D images by projecting a series of profiling images distributed in the space form a volumetric image because of the after-image effect of human eyes. Exemplary applications in biomedical image visualization were tested on a prototype display, using different methods to display a data set from Ct-scans. The features of this display technology make it most suitable for applications that require quick understanding of the 3D relations, need frequent spatial interactions with the 3D images, or involve time-varying 3D data. It can also be useful for group discussion and decision making.