Enabling Cinematic Anatomy on Mobile and Immersive Displays through Compressed 3D Gaussian Splatting

Concepts de base

Compressed 3D Gaussian splatting enables interactive photorealistic visualization of 3D anatomy on lightweight mobile devices and in virtual reality environments.

Résumé

The content presents a novel approach for enabling interactive photorealistic visualization of 3D anatomy, known as Cinematic Anatomy, on mobile devices and in virtual reality environments. The key contributions are:

An automatic approach for finding a set of images that captures all potentially seen structures under the current transfer function setting.
An extension of 3D Gaussian splatting (3DGS) with differentiable alpha channel rendering to create background-free reconstructions.
The integration of Mip-Splatting to account for different levels of detail and enable smooth transitions when the focal length is increased.
An analysis of the quality, performance and memory requirements of the proposed approach using a number of high-resolution medical datasets.

The results demonstrate that the compressed 3DGS representation is significantly smaller than the initial dataset, enabling interactive rendering on mobile devices. The rendering performance is about two orders of magnitudes faster than optimized path-tracing, with almost no perceptible loss of image quality. This facilitates the use of Cinematic Anatomy in mobile VR/AR environments with GPU multi-view rendering for stereoscopic displays.

Stats

The Brain dataset is a HiP-CT scan of resolution 3224x3224x3585 voxels, requiring 36.4 GB of memory.
The Kidney dataset is a HiP-CT scan of resolution 1510x1706x1415 voxels, requiring 3.6 GB of memory.
The Fullbody dataset is a CT angiography scan of resolution 317x317x835 voxels, requiring 0.2 GB of memory.

Citations

"Even for GB datasets, the final renderable representation can usually be compressed to less than 70 MB, enabling interactive rendering on low-end devices using rasterization."
"Rendering performance is about two orders of magnitudes faster than optimized path-tracing, with almost no perceptible loss of image quality."

Idées clés tirées de

Novel View Synthesis for Cinematic Anatomy on Mobile and Immersive Displays

by Simo... à arxiv.org 04-18-2024

https://arxiv.org/pdf/2404.11285.pdf

Questions plus approfondies

How can the proposed approach be extended to support interactive transfer function changes and clip plane adjustments during rendering

To support interactive transfer function changes and clip plane adjustments during rendering, the 3D Gaussian splatting approach can be extended by incorporating dynamic updates to the Gaussian parameters based on user input. When a transfer function change is initiated, the system can adjust the color and opacity attributes of the Gaussians in real-time to reflect the new settings. Similarly, for clip plane adjustments, the system can dynamically add or remove Gaussians that fall within or outside the clip plane boundaries. By continuously updating the Gaussian representation based on user interactions, the rendering can adapt to changes in transfer functions and clip planes seamlessly during the visualization process.

What are the limitations of the 3D Gaussian splatting approach in handling highly transparent and heterogeneous volumetric structures, and how can these be addressed

The limitations of 3D Gaussian splatting in handling highly transparent and heterogeneous volumetric structures stem from the challenge of accurately representing complex color and opacity variations within the volume. In scenarios with highly transparent regions or heterogeneous materials, the current approach may struggle to capture the intricate details and variations in illumination and transparency. To address these limitations, one approach could be to enhance the optimization process of 3D Gaussian parameters to better capture the nuances of transparency and heterogeneity. This could involve optimizing a larger number of Gaussians with finer adjustments to color, opacity, and shape attributes to more accurately represent the complex structures within the volume. Additionally, incorporating advanced algorithms for handling semi-transparent materials and heterogeneous structures could improve the fidelity of the reconstructed images in such scenarios.

What are the potential applications of the compressed 3D Gaussian splatting representation beyond Cinematic Anatomy, such as in scientific visualization or gaming

The compressed 3D Gaussian splatting representation has potential applications beyond Cinematic Anatomy in various fields such as scientific visualization, gaming, and virtual reality. In scientific visualization, the compact representation can be utilized for interactive exploration and analysis of volumetric data in fields like medical imaging, geoscience, and engineering. By enabling efficient rendering on low-end devices, the compressed representation can democratize access to advanced visualization tools for researchers and professionals working with volumetric data. In gaming, the compressed 3D Gaussian splatting representation can enhance the realism and visual quality of volumetric effects, such as smoke, fire, and explosions, leading to more immersive gaming experiences. Additionally, in virtual reality applications, the lightweight representation can facilitate real-time rendering of complex volumetric scenes, enabling interactive and realistic VR environments for training, simulation, and entertainment purposes. The versatility and efficiency of the compressed 3D Gaussian splatting approach make it a valuable tool for a wide range of applications beyond Cinematic Anatomy.