voxel

noun

vox·​el ˈväk-səl 

-ˌsel

: any of the discrete elements comprising a three-dimensional entity (such as an image produced by magnetic resonance imaging)

MRI produces the best resolution of any existing scanning technology, imaging down to a 2-millimetre "voxel" (the 3D equivalent of a pixel).

—Clint Witchalls

To process the MRI data, a computer overlaid on Pickens' brain a virtual three-dimensional grid of 50,000 cubes called voxels (a word hinting at volume and pixels).

—Christopher Helman

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web

Coding and analyzing the data in each voxel helped researchers visualize which regions of the brain process certain kinds of words. —Jennifer Walter, Discover Magazine, 22 Aug. 2019

Mirrors focus the beam into position, arranging each individual voxel (the term for 3-D pixels) at specific lateral (X,Y) and axial (Z) points. —Jonathon Keats, Discover Magazine, 29 Nov. 2015

Everything that was previously pre-rendered now plays out from your first-person perspective, and the results benefit hugely from the remastered game's voxel-like aesthetic and haunting light modeling. —Sam Machkovech, Ars Technica, 10 Sep. 2022

Norman’s research group has used fMRI technology to find voxel patterns in the cortex that are reflected in the hippocampus. —James Somers, The New Yorker, 29 Nov. 2021

Taking the voxel approach to the art was the right choice here, considering the new broader functionality. —Ollie Barder, Forbes, 30 Aug. 2021

In being so inviting, Minecraft Dungeons might suggest a possible future for Minecraft and its vast voxel worlds. —Julie Muncy, Wired, 29 May 2020

The scientists identified a cluster of 14 voxels (3D pixels) in this region of the dogs’ left hemispheres, but didn’t find any such clusters in the right, and none in any part of the dogs’ brains in response to the neutral stimulus. —Virginia Morell, Science | AAAS, 28 Feb. 2020

Here's what's going on: As the pixels change color, a small portion of each voxel is altered. —Courtney Linder, Popular Mechanics, 9 Feb. 2020

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Word History

Etymology

vo(lume) entry 1 + (pi)xel

First Known Use

1976, in the meaning defined above