Voxel

Definition: A voxel is a term for an element of a three-dimensional space that corresponds to a pixel for a given slice thickness. It represents a single sample or data point on a regularly spaced three-dimensional grid and does not represent a volume. The position of a voxel is determined by its position relative to other voxels, and rendering systems do not encode the position with the values. Voxels are useful for representing regularly sampled spaces that are non-uniformly filled, but cannot effectively represent simple 3D structures with empty or uniformly filled space. The missing information between voxels can be reconstructed or approximated through interpolation.

Alternative definition: Voxel is the 3D analog of pixels (the name is a contraction of volumetric pixel). Each voxel corresponds to a small cubic volume within space. At each voxel, a boolean is stored which indicates the presence or absence of the volume at that point.

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References: M.F. Bear, B.W. Connors, and M.A. Paradiso. Neuroscience: Exploring the brain. Neuroscience: Exploring the Brain. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2007.

Related terms: Volume, pixel