Realistic visualization of living brain tissue.

This paper presents an advanced method of visualizing the surface appearance of living brain tissue. We have been granted access to the operating theatre during neurosurgical procedures to obtain colour data via calibrated photography of exposed brain tissue. The specular reflectivity of the brain's surface is approximated by analyzing a gelatine layer applied to animal flesh. This provides data for a bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) that is then used the rendering process. Rendering is achieved in realtime by utilizing the GPU, and includes support for ambient occlusion, advanced texturing, sub surface scattering and specularity. Our goal is to investigate whether realistic visualizations of living anatomy can be produced and so provide added value to anatomy education.