DICOM PS3.17 2024d - Explanatory Information

CCCCC Height Map Segmentation (Informative)

CCCCC.1 Introduction

In general computer graphics usage, a height map describes the distance ("height") of a surface perpendicular to a baseline plane within a volume, where a surface has at most one height position for each point on the baseline plane. The height map data is thus a 2D plane with a value at each coordinate position of the baseline plane. In the degenerate case of a volume consisting of a single vertical plane, the height map is a 1D series of data values.

DICOM Height Map Segmentation represents the height map of a surface within a volume as a 2D "image", with the pixel values representing the offset location of the surface. The volume is defined by the voxel matrix extent of a referenced multi-frame image, where the referenced image frames are perpendicular to the baseline plane of the Height Map Segmentation image frame. In the degenerate case of a referenced image being a single frame, the height map data for that frame can be represented by a single row of values.

Since DICOM height map data represents distance from the top of the referenced image pixel matrix, the height map might more accurately be described as a "depth map". However, that term has a different meaning in computer graphics processing, so DICOM uses the conventional term "height map".

DICOM PS3.17 2024d - Explanatory Information