Volume visualization of multicolor laser confocal microscope data

The objective of this work is to give biologists the ability to visualize multicolor laser confocal microscope (MLCM) data sets. We present the application of volume ray casting techniques to create fast and accurate visualization of the spatial structures in MLCM data sets. We provide various volume pre-processing routines for noise removal, smoothing and edge enhancement. The tool has an interactive interface to assist the operator in classifying the volume using various transparency mappings. We have developed volume rendering using volumetric ray casting based upon a perspective camera model. We illustrate an innovative way to simultaneously visualize LCM data set from three lasers using voxel level merging. A method to generate key frame animation sequence of an arbitrary fly through path is also included in the visualization tool. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.