80
14

Volume-Enclosing Surface Extraction

B. R. Schlei
Abstract

In this paper we present a new method, which allows for the construction of triangular isosurfaces from three-dimensional data sets, such as 3D image data and/or numerical simulation data that are based on regularly shaped, cubic lattices. This novel volume-enclosing surface extraction technique, which has been named VESTA, is guaranteed to always produce surfaces that are free from any holes. This is, e.g., in contrast to the well-known and very popular, original Marching Cubes algorithm, which has been developed by W.E. Lorensen and H.E. Cline in the mid-1980s. Unlike the Marching Cubes algorithm, VESTA constructs surfaces from the grounds up. It is neither template-based, nor is it necessarily required to operate on 2x2x2 voxel cell neighborhoods. The surface tiles are determined with a very fast and robust construction technique while potential ambiguities are detected and resolved. Here, we provide an in-depth comparison between VESTA and the Marching Cubes algorithm for the very first time. In an application section, we demonstrate the extraction of VESTA isosurfaces from various data sets ranging from computer tomographic scan data to simulation data of relativistic hydrodynamic fireball expansions.

View on arXiv
Comments on this paper

We use cookies and other tracking technologies to improve your browsing experience on our website, to show you personalized content and targeted ads, to analyze our website traffic, and to understand where our visitors are coming from. See our policy.