New Technique for Visualizing Cerebral Vessels in MR Angiographic Images Using Three-dimensional Discrete Wavelet Transform

: Visualization techniques for magnetic resonance (MR) angiographic images are generally based on the projection ray concept; for example, maximum intensity projection (MIP) and volume rendering (VR). A new technique based on a different concept from projection rays is explored in this study: three-dimensional (3-D) discrete wavelet transforms are used for visualizing cerebral vessels in the MR angiographic image. This technique successfully visualizes cerebral vessels and represents the spatial relationship between the cerebral vessels, as in the case of VR. The proposed technique is, thus, indicated to be promising for visualizing cerebral vessels in 3-D MR angiographic images.