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Propagation-based marching cubes algorithm using open boundary loop

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Abstract

The marching cubes (MC) algorithm is employed to generated triangular meshes for visualizing medical images, sculpture scans and mathematical surfaces. It sequentially traverses cuberille data composed of sampled points of a scalar volumetric data. This paper proposes a propagation-based MC algorithm that uses the open boundary loop concept. The open boundary loop is used to determine adjacent cells for the next iteration of the MC algorithm. After inserting each triangle, the open boundary loop is reevaluated. Simultaneously, it is ensured that all triangles are coherently oriented and there are no holes on the isosurface. Several tests are conducted to determine the performance of the algorithm in comparison with the original MC algorithm. Results from these tests indicate that, for large-scale problems, the proposed algorithm performs better than the original.

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Acknowledgements

Marcos S. Guerra Tsuzuki was partially supported by CNPq (Grant 310.663/ 2013-0). André Kubagawa Sato was supported by FAPESP (Grant 2010/19646-0). Rogério Yugo Takimoto is supported by CNPq (Grant 401.794/2014-8). Thiago Castro Martins is partially supported by CNPq (Grant 306.415/2012-7). This project was partially supported by a joint project from JSPS/CAPES under the Japan - Brazil Research Cooperative Program.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Computational Geometry Laboratory, Department of Mechatronics and Mechanical Systems Engineering, Escola Politécnica da Universidade de São Paulo, Av. Prof. Mello Moraes, 2231, São Paulo, SP, Brazil

    Marcos de Sales Guerra Tsuzuki, André Kubagawa Sato, Edson Kenji Ueda, Thiago de Castro Martins & Rogério Yugo Takimoto

  2. Yokohama National University, 79-1 Tokiwadai, Hodogaya-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa, 240-8501, Japan

    Yuma Iwao, Leonardo Ishida Abe, Toshiyuki Gotoh & Seiichiro Kagei

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  1. Marcos de Sales Guerra Tsuzuki
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  2. André Kubagawa Sato
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  3. Edson Kenji Ueda
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  4. Thiago de Castro Martins
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  5. Rogério Yugo Takimoto
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  6. Yuma Iwao
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  7. Leonardo Ishida Abe
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  8. Toshiyuki Gotoh
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  9. Seiichiro Kagei
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Correspondence to Marcos de Sales Guerra Tsuzuki.

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Tsuzuki, M.d.G., Sato, A.K., Ueda, E.K. et al. Propagation-based marching cubes algorithm using open boundary loop. Vis Comput 34, 1339–1355 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00371-017-1417-2

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