Volume rendering techniques were originally developed for medical and scientific imaging; the results of an MRI or a seismograph are volume-rendered graphics produced from 3D scalar data. The techniques allow for the absorption, reflection, scattering and emission of light within an image--useful in medicine but also useful in the simulation of smoke, fire, clouds, and similar effects. This text covering theory and practice is intended not only for medical imaging specialists, but also for scientists, engineers, game developers, visual artists, animators, and anyone working with computer graphics. It can be used in an introductory course as well as for self study. The 17 chapters discuss theoretical background and basic approaches, GPU programming and GPU-based volume rendering, transfer functions, local and global volume illumination, ray casting, segmented volume data and large volume data, and non-photorealistic and illustrative techniques, among other topics. Algorithms for specific tasks are included throughout the book, written in C++ with OpenGL as the graphics API and Cg as the shading language. Annotation ©2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)