Realistic volume imaging

A set of volume visualization tools that are based on the use of recursive ray tracing as the primary vehicle for realistic volume imaging is presented. The tools include shadows, mirrors, specularity, and constructive solid geometry. The underlying representation for the ray tracer is a 3-D raster of voxels that holds the discrete form of the scene. Unlike traditional volume rendering techniques, the discrete recursive ray tracer models many illumination phenomena by traversing discrete rays in voxel space. The approach provides true ray tracing of sampled or computed datasets, as well as ray tracing of hybrid scenes where sampled or computed data are intermixed with geometric models and enhances the understanding of complex biomedical datasets