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Technical Challenges of 3D Visualization of Large Color Data Sets

Celina Imielinska, Ph.D.#+ (X), Lisa Laino-Pepper, M.S.&, Richard Thumann, M.S.&, Ryan Villamil& # Department of Computer Science, Columbia University + Office of Scholarly Resources, College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University, New York, NY 10032 & Department of Computer Science, Stevens Institute of Technology ci42@columbia.edu LisaPepper@compuserve.com, richard.thumann@alliedsignal.com , rvillami@stevens-tech.edu

Abstract
The 3D visualization of large color data sets posts new challenges in the area of image processing and 3D shape reconstruction. The National Library of Medicine initiated the Visible Human Project in an effort to advance the state of the art in medical imaging and to improve upon the current tools available for medical education and diagnosis. The visualization of Visible Human data sets requires processing of a large volumetric data, where extraction of the 3D models of anatomical structures should also preserve the original color texture of the structures. Since the reconstructed surfaces are often too large to be easily manipulated and sent over the network, there is a necessity for reducing the size of the representation (the polygonal mesh) and preserving perceptually the texture. We are proposing a set of visualization tools, our work in progress, for processing of the Visible Human data.

Keywords: visualization, education, 3D model.

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(X) this research has been partially supported by 1998 NSF POWRE grant