Realistic Fetus Skin Color Processing for Ultrasound Volume Rendering

This paper proposes realistic fetus skin color processing using a 2D color map and a tone mapping function (TMF) for ultrasound volume rendering. The contributions of this paper are a 2D color map generated through a gamut model of skin color and a TMF that depends on the lighting position. First, the gamut model of fetus skin color is calculated by color distribution of baby images. The 2D color map is created using a gamut model for tone mapping of ray casting. For the translucent effect, a 2D color map in which lightness is inverted is generated. Second, to enhance the contrast of rendered images, the luminance, color, and tone curve TMF parameters are changed using 2D Gaussian function that depends on the lighting position. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method achieves better realistic skin color reproduction than the conventional method.