Quick review of  - C. Monks, P. Crossno, G. Davidson, C. Pavlakos, A. Kupfer, C. Silva, and B. Wylie (1996). “Three Dimensional Visualization of Proteins in Cellular Interaction”., Proc. IEEE Visualization '96, 363-366.

    Interaction between cells is an important subject for researchers to understand because it plays a key role in the immune system, organism development, and system responses.  Using computer graphics, researchers can view the data from all angles using various rendering approaches. The field data examined here was not a CT or MRI scan, but created from pictures taken of cells taken using a 3D microscope.

    This paper uses three different approaches to view the data: volume rendering, isosurfaces, and virtual reality. The volume rendering was done using a number of different programs. Isosurfaces were created through the use of the marching cubes algorithm. Virtual reality consisted of using the isosurfaces created and then immersing the user in the data. Here the researcher can explore that data from a closer view and can move around very easily.

    The authors concluded to say that there was not a single best way of viewing the data since each had its strong points. Volume rendering was used as an overhead view of the interactions giving the researchers ideas on places to look more closely. Isosurfaces permitted features such as the spatial relationship between proteins to be seen more cleanly. Finally the virtual reality viewpoint help the researchers better comprehend the data.
 
 

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