2. Background
In the context of medical 3D visualization, medical images are usually composed of a set of images, each one representing a slice of the patient’s body. The set of slices can be acquired by a number of methods, e.g., CT or MRI scanning. These slices are sampled in a regular pattern, typically following a parallel and equidistant distribution across the body, as shown in Fig. 1a. Unfortunately, the resulting set of slices is difficult to understand for the untrained student, as it requires an evident cognitive effort to visualize the actual 3D structures of the body from a set of 2D images.