Colored volume rendering: Application to myocardial scintigraphy

A colored version of the volume rendering technique is proposed as an assistance in interpreting myocardial technetium-99m-hexakis-2-methoxyisobutylisonitrile Single Photon Emission Tomography (SESTAMIBI-99mTc SPET). The colored rendered images (CRIs) were obtained by fusing activity rendered images (ARIs) with location rendered images (LRIs). The ARIs represent the SESTAMIBI-99mTc uptake and LRIs represent the localization of this uptake. Fused ARIs and LRIs are built by a simple addition pixel by pixel. They are displayed using a color scale, which makes it possible to visualize the superimposition of ARIs and LRIs by a transparency effect. This technique helps in estimating the extent of perfusion defects.