VolumePro Applications

It's not always evident how real-time 3D volume rendering differs from traditional texture-mapped computer graphics or how hardware-based volume rendering can dramatically improve visualization results. VolumePro technology has played an important role in volume visualization since its introduction in June 1999. Regardless of the industry segment or specific visualization application, there are several common elements that mandate a VolumePro rendering solution.

While some remarkable computer graphic effects can be achieved on relatively inexpensive PC systems, real-time volume rendering creates very demanding conditions that are beyond the technical capabilities of even high-end PCs.

Acquisition/scanning devices that acquire discrete sample volume data include sophisticated medical scanners to security detection systems for explosives detection in luggage. Volume data acquired from discrete sample data (as opposed to 3D texture mapping) is necessary when it is critical to "see inside" an object or a volume in real-time.

To find evidence of a brain tumor, oil deposits, or potentially dangerous flaws in structural steel, the analyst must search rapidly through massive amounts of data seeking some visual anomaly. Paging through hundreds or even thousands of 2D 'slices' using very powerful and expensive super-computers was the accepted method of the last decade. Today, physicians and scientists want to deal with 3D imaging techniques standard PC systems.

VolumePro 1000 is instrumental in augmenting the effectiveness of the hardware platforms running 3D applications that acquire multi-gigabyte volume data. These applications require superior image quality, precise and accurate 3D reconstruction, mission-critical uptime, and interactive performance.

In spite of the remarkable advances of CPUs, GPUs, and cluster computers, dealing with very large volume datasets with high performance imaging remains daunting. VolumePro, designed from the chip up, eliminates the need for slow, complex software and its questionable texture mapping and ray tracing implementations.

Today's CT, MR, and PET scanners produce huge amounts of volumetric data for radiologists and clinicians to diagnose. Advances in image-guided surgery, computer aided diagnostics and radiation treatment planning all rely on real-time rendered 3D volumes. Physicians seek easy to use systems that can deal effectively with large volume datasets, with excellent image quality and interactive real-time performance.

Real-time 3D volume rendering is ideally suited for applications including oil and gas exploration, wellhead drilling planning, seismic data interpretation, petroleum engineering, and subsurface fault and earthquake detection and planning.

It costs upwards of $50 million dollars to drill an oil well. Oil companies are looking for a 99.99% probability for success before committing to such an investment. Seismic interpretation is a fast evolving application moving from 2D to 3D. Enormous data sets in the terabyte range have to be interpreted, analyzed, and re-analyzed. Geoscientists want to visualize and interact with at least several gigabytes of data using their desktop systems.

VolumePro products are based on patented real-time 3D volume-processing technology. These products dramatically advance the state of the art in performance, image quality, and integration of 3D visualization systems. VolumePro technology provides the fastest and most affordable imaging solution for real-time interpretation of large seismic volumes for individual workstations, interpretation workgroups, and high performance visualization platforms for desk-side and visualization center applications.

Non-destructive testing (NDT) is the best way to safely evaluate the structural integrity of critical materials.
Whether examining plastics for strength and flexibility via electron microscopy or insuring the integrity of cooling pipes for nuclear facilities via CT scans, the human eye must search for minute flaws and anomalies, sorting through massive amounts of volumetric data.

Scientists studying astrophysics, fluid dynamics, molecular biology, forensics, weather modeling, etc. now use sophisticated 3D visualization techniques to gain new perspectives and test their theories. Both real and synthetic volume data must be analyzed. PCs and clusters of PCs are the systems of choice.

Full Software Developer's Kit:

A full software developer's license is available from TeraRecon for OEMs and system integrators who wish to maximize the effectiveness of VolumePro in their visualization application. The license is included in the purchase of the VolumePro SDK which also includes one full year of unlimited software engineering support (renewable annually); tailored training; bug fixes and updates; documentation and diagnostics; sample applications and volume datasets; and application "stubs" with source code.

The API to the VolumePro board is our Volume Library Interface (VLI). The VLI API provides low-level access to all the features of the VolumePro board in a programmer friendly manner. We have tried to maintain an ease of programming in the VLI, which consists of C++ classes. Generally the classes represent a number of configuration, volume type, data manipulation, and context commands for your application to call.