@vitessce/spatial-accelerated 3.8.0

package/src/shaders/VolumeFragmentShader.js

@@ -0,0 +1,1818 @@
+// Attribution: Originally written by @alexandrairger
+// Moved from .glsl file to .js file in this commit: https://github.com/vitessce/vitessce/pull/2264/commits/7f17fc003674a4ed1a8de6140db802781871cf88
+/*
+ * This shader implements ray-marching volume rendering with:
+ * - Multi-resolution level-of-detail (LOD) support
+ * - Brick-based caching system for large datasets
+ * - Multi-channel rendering with independent color/opacity
+ * - Adaptive sampling based on distance and resolution
+ * - Support for different rendering styles (MIP, MinIP, standard)
+ *
+ * ========================================
+ * BRICK CACHE AND PAGE TABLE EXPLANATION
+ * ========================================
+ * Volumes can be gigabytes in size, but GPU memory is limited.
+ * We need a way to efficiently render these datasets without
+ * loading everything into memory at once.
+ *
+ * SOLUTION: A two-tier caching system using a Brick Cache and a Page Table:
+ *
+ * 1. BRICK CACHE (The Data Storage):
+ *    - Think of the 3D dataset as a large cube divided into smaller 32x32x32
+ *      voxel "bricks"
+ *    - The Brick Cache is a 3D texture (2048x2048x128) that acts as a "cache"
+ *      or "working memory" for these bricks
+ *    - Only the most recently used bricks are kept in this cache
+ *    - When you need data from a brick that's not in the cache, it gets loaded
+ *      from disk and stored in the cache (replacing the least recently used brick)
+ *
+ * 2. PAGE TABLE (The Index/Map):
+ *    - The Page Table is an index that tells us where
+ *      each brick is stored in the Brick Cache
+ *    - Each entry in the Page Table corresponds to one brick in the 3D dataset
+ *    - The Page Table entry contains:
+ *      * Whether the brick is currently loaded in the cache (resident flag)
+ *          In other words, the brick is in the cache and available for immediate use.
+ *      * Whether the brick has been initialized with data (initialized flag)
+ *          In other words, the data is known to be available in the CPU, but
+ *          we still need to request this data to be loaded into the brick cache.
+ *      * The minimum and maximum values in the brick (for optimization)
+ *      * The exact coordinates where the brick is stored in the Brick Cache
+ *    - This is similar to how a library's card catalog tells you which shelf
+ *      and position a book is located
+ *
+ * HOW IT WORKS TOGETHER:
+ * 1. When rendering a pixel, the shader needs to sample data from a specific
+ *    location in the 3D dataset
+ * 2. It calculates which brick contains that location
+ * 3. It looks up that brick in the Page Table to see if it's loaded in the cache
+ * 4. If loaded: it uses the coordinates from the Page Table to sample from the
+ *    Brick Cache
+ * 5. If not loaded: it requests the brick to be loaded (and continues with
+ *    lower resolution data until the brick arrives)
+ *      The request is performed by modifying the gRequest value
+ *      to append the coordinate of the brick being requested.
+ *
+ * MULTI-RESOLUTION ADAPTATION:
+ * The system supports multiple levels of detail (LOD) to handle different viewing
+ * distances and performance requirements:
+ *
+ * RESOLUTION LEVELS:
+ * - Level 0: Highest detail (1:1 scale) - every voxel is represented
+ * - Level 1: 2:1 scale - every 2x2x2 block of voxels becomes 1 voxel
+ * - Level 2: 4:1 scale - every 4x4x4 block of voxels becomes 1 voxel
+ * - Level 3: 8:1 scale - every 8x8x8 block of voxels becomes 1 voxel
+ * - ...and so on up to Level 9 (512:1 scale)
+ *
+ * HOW BRICK CACHE HANDLES MULTIPLE RESOLUTIONS:
+ * - Each resolution level has its own set of bricks in the same cache
+ * - Higher resolution levels use more bricks (more detail)
+ * - Lower resolution levels use fewer bricks (less detail)
+ * - The cache can store bricks from different resolution levels simultaneously
+ * - When you zoom in, the system loads higher resolution bricks
+ * - When you zoom out, it can use lower resolution bricks (faster rendering)
+ *
+ * HOW PAGE TABLE HANDLES MULTIPLE RESOLUTIONS:
+ * - Each resolution level has its own "anchor point" in the page table
+ * - The anchor point defines where that resolution's brick entries start
+ * - Different channels can have different resolution ranges available
+ * - The system automatically selects the best available resolution for each channel
+ * - If a high-resolution brick isn't loaded, it falls back to lower resolution
+ *
+ * ADAPTIVE RESOLUTION SELECTION:
+ * - Distance-based: Objects far from the camera use lower resolution
+ * - Performance-based: When rendering is slow, it uses lower resolution
+ * - Quality-based: When high quality is needed, it requests higher resolution
+ * - Channel-specific: Each channel can have different resolution requirements
+ *
+ * EXAMPLE SCENARIO:
+ * 1. User is viewing a large dataset from far away → Uses Level 5-7 bricks
+ * 2. User zooms in on a specific region → System requests Level 2-3 bricks
+ * 3. User continues zooming → System loads Level 0-1 bricks for maximum detail
+ * 4. If Level 0 bricks aren't loaded yet → Temporarily shows Level 1 bricks
+ * 5. Once Level 0 bricks arrive → Smoothly transitions to highest detail
+ *
+ * Diagrams:
+ *
+ * 1. Ray-Marching Through Volume:
+ *    Camera
+ *      |
+ *      v
+ *    ┌─────────────────────────────────────┐
+ *    │                                     │
+ *    │  ┌───┐  ┌───┐  ┌───┐  ┌───┐         │
+ *    │  │B0 │  │B1 │  │B2 │  │B3 │  ...    │  <- Bricks (32x32x32 voxels)
+ *    │  └───┘  └───┘  └───┘  └───┘         │
+ *    │                                     │
+ *    │  Ray marches through volume         │
+ *    │  sampling at regular intervals      │
+ *    │                                     │
+ *    └─────────────────────────────────────┘
+ *
+ * 2. Multi-Resolution LOD System:
+ *    Resolution Levels (0 = highest, 9 = lowest):
+ *
+ *    Level 0: ████████████████████████████  (1:1 scale)
+ *    Level 1: ████████░░░░░░░░████████░░░░  (2:1 scale)
+ *    Level 2: ████░░░░░░░░░░░░████░░░░░░░░  (4:1 scale)
+ *    Level 3: ██░░░░░░░░░░░░░░██░░░░░░░░░░  (8:1 scale)
+ *    ...
+ *    Level 9: █░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░  (512:1 scale)
+ *
+ * 3. Brick Cache Layout:
+ *    ┌─────────────────────────────────────┐
+ *    │ 2048 x 2048 x 128 texture           │
+ *    │                                     │
+ *    │  ┌───┐  ┌───┐  ┌───┐  ┌───┐         │
+ *    │  │B0 │  │B1 │  │B2 │  │B3 │  ...    │  <- Brick cache entries
+ *    │  └───┘  └───┘  └───┘  └───┘         │
+ *    │                                     │
+ *    │  Each brick = 32x32x32 voxels       │
+ *    │  Total: 64x64x16 = 65,536 bricks    │
+ *    └─────────────────────────────────────┘
+ *
+ * 4. Page Table Structure:
+ *    ┌─────────────────────────────────────┐
+ *    │ 32-bit entry per brick:             │
+ *    │                                     │
+ *    │ [31] Resident flag (1=loaded)       │
+ *    │ [30] Initialized flag (1=ready)     │
+ *    │ [29:23] Min value (7 bits)          │
+ *    │ [22:16] Max value (7 bits)          │
+ *    │ [15:10] X offset in cache (6 bits)  │
+ *    │ [9:4]  Y offset in cache (6 bits)   │
+ *    │ [3:0]  Z offset in cache (4 bits)   │
+ *    └─────────────────────────────────────┘
+ *
+ * 5. Multi-Channel Rendering:
+ *    Channel 0: ████████████████████████████
+ *    Channel 1: ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░
+ *    Channel 2: ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒
+ *    Channel 3: ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓
+ *    Channel 4: ████████████████████████████
+ *    Channel 5: ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░
+ *    Channel 6: ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒
+ *
+ *    Each channel has independent:
+ *    - Color mapping
+ *    - Opacity
+ *    - Resolution range
+ *    - Contrast limits
+ *
+ * 6. Adaptive Sampling:
+ *    Distance-based LOD selection:
+ *
+ *    Near:   ████████████████████████████  (High res, small steps)
+ *    Medium: ████████░░░░░░░░████████░░░░  (Medium res, medium steps)
+ *    Far:    ██░░░░░░░░░░░░░░██░░░░░░░░░░  (Low res, large steps)
+ *
+ * Other features:
+ * - Ray-box intersection for volume bounds
+ * - Adaptive step size based on LOD
+ * - Trilinear interpolation for smooth sampling
+ * - Early termination for opaque regions
+ * - Request/usage tracking for brick loading
+ * - Support for clipping planes
+ * - Jittered sampling for noise reduction
+ */
+
+// lang: glsl
+export const volumeFragmentShader = `//
+// #include <packing>
+precision highp float;
+precision highp int;
+precision highp sampler3D;
+precision highp usampler3D;
+
+// ========================================
+// INPUT VARIABLES (from vertex shader)
+// ========================================
+// Unnormalized ray direction from camera
+in vec3 rayDirUnnorm;
+// Camera position in world space
+in vec3 cameraCorrected;
+
+// ========================================
+// TEXTURE SAMPLERS
+// ========================================
+// 3D texture containing cached brick data (2048x2048x128)
+// (2048*2048*128)/(32*32*32) = 16,384 bricks can be stored?
+uniform sampler3D brickCacheTex;
+// 3D texture containing page table entries (brick metadata)
+uniform usampler3D pageTableTex;
+
+// ========================================
+// RENDERING PARAMETERS/CONSTANTS
+// ========================================
+// Rendering style: 0=MIP, 1=MinIP, 2=standard volume rendering
+uniform int u_renderstyle;
+// Global opacity multiplier for volume rendering
+uniform float opacity;
+
+// ========================================
+// CONTRAST LIMITS (per channel)
+// per channel min/max values for value normalization
+// ========================================
+uniform vec2 clim0;
+uniform vec2 clim1;
+uniform vec2 clim2;
+uniform vec2 clim3;
+uniform vec2 clim4;
+uniform vec2 clim5;
+uniform vec2 clim6;
+
+// ========================================
+// CLIPPING PLANES
+// e.g., for X-axis clipping: (min_x, max_x) or (-1, -1) if disabled
+// ========================================
+uniform vec2 xClip;
+uniform vec2 yClip;
+uniform vec2 zClip;
+
+// ========================================
+// CHANNEL COLORS AND OPACITIES
+// rgb -- color values, a -- visibility (boolean)
+// ========================================
+uniform vec4 color0;
+uniform vec4 color1;
+uniform vec4 color2;
+uniform vec4 color3;
+uniform vec4 color4;
+uniform vec4 color5;
+uniform vec4 color6;
+
+// maps colors to physical spaces
+uniform int channelMapping[7];
+
+// ========================================
+// VOLUME AND RESOLUTION PARAMETERS
+// ========================================
+// Volume bounding box size in world space
+uniform highp vec3 boxSize;
+// Rendering resolution level (affects step size)
+// stepsize, correlates with resolution
+uniform int renderRes;
+// Volume dimensions in voxels (x, y, z)
+// resolution 0 voxel extents
+uniform uvec3 voxelExtents;
+// Global resolution range: (min_res, max_res)
+// global range of requested resolutions
+uniform ivec2 resGlobal;
+// Maximum number of active channels
+// max number of channels (relevant for the cache statistics)
+// between 1 and 7
+uniform int maxChannels;
+
+// ========================================
+// PER-CHANNEL RESOLUTION RANGES
+// per color channel resolution range
+// Each channel can have different available resolution levels
+// e.g., for Channel 0: (min_res, max_res)
+// ========================================
+uniform ivec2 res0;
+uniform ivec2 res1;
+uniform ivec2 res2;
+uniform ivec2 res3;
+uniform ivec2 res4;
+uniform ivec2 res5;
+uniform ivec2 res6;
+// Channel 7: unused
+uniform ivec2 res7;
+
+// ========================================
+// LEVEL-OF-DETAIL PARAMETERS
+// controls how fast we decrease the resolution
+// ========================================
+// LOD factor for distance-based resolution selection
+uniform float lodFactor;
+
+// ========================================
+// ANCHOR POINTS (per resolution level)
+// per resolution anchor point for pagetable
+// ========================================
+// Anchor points define the origin of page table for each resolution level
+// Resolution 0 anchor point (highest detail)
+uniform uvec3 anchor0;
+uniform uvec3 anchor1;
+uniform uvec3 anchor2;
+uniform uvec3 anchor3;
+uniform uvec3 anchor4;
+uniform uvec3 anchor5;
+uniform uvec3 anchor6;
+uniform uvec3 anchor7;
+uniform uvec3 anchor8;
+uniform uvec3 anchor9;
+// Resolution 9 anchor point (lowest detail)
+
+// ========================================
+// SCALE FACTORS (per resolution level)
+// per resolution downsample factor
+// ========================================
+// Scale factors determine voxel size at each resolution level
+// Resolution 0 scale factors (should be 1,1,1)
+uniform vec3 scale0;
+uniform vec3 scale1;
+uniform vec3 scale2;
+uniform vec3 scale3;
+uniform vec3 scale4;
+uniform vec3 scale5;
+uniform vec3 scale6;
+uniform vec3 scale7;
+uniform vec3 scale8;
+uniform vec3 scale9;
+// Resolution 9 scale factors
+
+// ========================================
+// VARYING VARIABLES (unused but required)
+// ========================================
+// Fragment position (unused)
+varying vec4 glPosition;
+// World space coordinates (used for depth only)
+varying vec3 worldSpaceCoords;
+
+// ========================================
+// OUTPUT VARIABLES (multiple render targets)
+// output buffers
+// ========================================
+// Final rendered color (sRGB)
+layout(location = 0) out vec4 gColor;
+// Brick loading requests (packed coordinates)
+layout(location = 1) out vec4 gRequest;
+// Brick usage tracking (for cache management)
+layout(location = 2) out vec4 gUsage;
+
+// ========================================
+// CONSTANTS
+// ========================================
+// Size of each brick in voxels (32x32x32)
+const float BRICK_SIZE = 32.0;
+// Brick cache texture width
+const float BRICK_CACHE_SIZE_X = 2048.0;
+// Brick cache texture height
+const float BRICK_CACHE_SIZE_Y = 2048.0;
+// Brick cache texture depth
+const float BRICK_CACHE_SIZE_Z = 128.0;
+// Number of bricks in X (64)
+const float BRICK_CACHE_BRICKS_X = BRICK_CACHE_SIZE_X / BRICK_SIZE;
+// Number of bricks in Y (64)
+const float BRICK_CACHE_BRICKS_Y = BRICK_CACHE_SIZE_Y / BRICK_SIZE;
+// Number of bricks in Z (4)
+const float BRICK_CACHE_BRICKS_Z = BRICK_CACHE_SIZE_Z / BRICK_SIZE;
+
+// ========================================
+// RAY-VOLUME INTERSECTION
+// calculating the intersection of the ray with the bounding box
+// ========================================
+// Calculates the intersection of a ray with the volume's bounding box
+// Returns (entry_time, exit_time) for the ray-box intersection
+// Handles clipping planes by adjusting the bounding box
+//
+// Parameters:
+//   orig - vec3: Ray origin point in world space
+//   dir - vec3: Ray direction vector (should be normalized)
+//
+// Returns:
+//   vec2: (entry_time, exit_time) where:
+//     - entry_time: Distance along ray to enter the volume
+//     - exit_time: Distance along ray to exit the volume
+//     - If no intersection: entry_time > exit_time
+vec2 intersect_hit(vec3 orig, vec3 dir) {
+    // Start with full volume bounds
+    vec3 boxMin = vec3(-0.5) * boxSize;
+    vec3 boxMax = vec3(0.5) * boxSize;
+    
+    // Apply clipping planes if they're active (xClip.x > -1.0 means active)
+    if (xClip.x > -1.0) {
+        boxMin.x = xClip.x - (boxSize.x / 2.0);
+        if (xClip.y < boxSize.x)
+        boxMax.x = xClip.y - (boxSize.x / 2.0);
+    }
+    if (yClip.x > -1.0) {
+        boxMin.y = yClip.x - (boxSize.y / 2.0);
+        if (yClip.y < boxSize.y)
+        boxMax.y = yClip.y - (boxSize.y / 2.0);
+    }
+    if (zClip.x > -1.0) {
+        boxMin.z = zClip.x - (boxSize.z / 2.0);
+        if (zClip.y < boxSize.z)
+        boxMax.z = zClip.y - (boxSize.z / 2.0);
+    }
+    
+    // Standard ray-box intersection algorithm
+    vec3 invDir = 1.0 / dir;
+    vec3 tmin0 = (boxMin - orig) * invDir;
+    vec3 tmax0 = (boxMax - orig) * invDir;
+    vec3 tmin = min(tmin0, tmax0);
+    vec3 tmax = max(tmin0, tmax0);
+    float t0 = max(tmin.x, max(tmin.y, tmin.z));  // Entry time
+    float t1 = min(tmax.x, min(tmax.y, tmax.z));  // Exit time
+    return vec2(t0, t1);
+}
+
+// ========================================
+// UTILITY FUNCTIONS
+// ========================================
+
+// Pseudo-random number generator for jittered sampling
+// random number generator based on the uv coordinate
+// Author @patriciogv - 2015
+// http://patriciogonzalezvivo.com
+//
+// Parameters:
+//   None (uses gl_FragCoord.xy as input)
+//
+// Returns:
+//   float: Random value between 0.0 and 1.0 based on fragment coordinates
+float random() {
+    return fract(sin(dot(gl_FragCoord.xy, vec2(12.9898,78.233)))* 43758.5453123);
+}
+
+// Convert from linear RGB to sRGB color space
+// Implements the standard sRGB transfer function for gamma correction
+//
+// Parameters:
+//   x - float: Linear RGB value between 0.0 and 1.0
+//
+// Returns:
+//   float: sRGB value between 0.0 and 1.0
+float linear_to_srgb(float x) {
+    if (x <= 0.0031308f) {
+        return 12.92f * x;
+    }
+    return 1.055f * pow(x, 1.f / 2.4f) - 0.055f;
+}
+
+// Convert from linear RGB to sRGB color space (vector version)
+// Applies sRGB conversion to each RGB component while preserving alpha
+//
+// Parameters:
+//   x - vec4: Linear RGBA color with components between 0.0 and 1.0
+//
+// Returns:
+//   vec4: sRGB RGBA color with components between 0.0 and 1.0
+vec4 linear_to_srgb(vec4 x) {
+    return vec4(linear_to_srgb(x.r), linear_to_srgb(x.g), linear_to_srgb(x.b), x.a);
+}
+
+// ========================================
+// PAGE TABLE COORDINATE PACKING
+// transform the pagetable coordinate into a RGBA8 value
+// ========================================
+// Packs 3D page table coordinates into RGBA8 texture format
+// Uses 10 bits for X, 10 bits for Y, 12 bits for Z
+//
+// Parameters:
+//   coord - uvec3: 3D coordinates to pack (X, Y, Z components)
+//     - X coordinate: 10-bit unsigned integer (0-1023)
+//     - Y coordinate: 10-bit unsigned integer (0-1023) 
+//     - Z coordinate: 12-bit unsigned integer (0-4095)
+//
+// Returns:
+//   vec4: RGBA8 encoded coordinates with components between 0.0 and 1.0
+//     - R: Upper 8 bits of packed 32-bit value
+//     - G: Middle-upper 8 bits of packed 32-bit value
+//     - B: Middle-lower 8 bits of packed 32-bit value
+//     - A: Lower 8 bits of packed 32-bit value
+vec4 packPTCoordToRGBA8(uvec3 coord) {
+
+    uint x = coord.x & 0x3FFu; // 10 bits for X coordinate
+    uint y = coord.y & 0x3FFu; // 10 bits for Y coordinate
+    uint z = coord.z & 0xFFFu; // 12 bits for Z coordinate
+
+    // Pack into 32-bit integer
+    uint packed =
+        (x << 22u) |
+        (y << 12u) |
+        (z);
+
+    // Decompose into RGBA8 format
+    return vec4(
+        float((packed >> 24u) & 0xFFu) / 255.0,
+        float((packed >> 16u) & 0xFFu) / 255.0,
+        float((packed >> 8u) & 0xFFu) / 255.0,
+        float(packed & 0xFFu) / 255.0
+    );
+}
+
+// ========================================
+// RESOLUTION AND ANCHOR POINT ACCESSORS
+// ========================================
+
+// Get anchor point for a specific resolution level
+// Anchor points define the origin of the page table for each resolution
+//
+// Parameters:
+//   index - int: Resolution level index (0-9, where 0 is highest resolution)
+//
+// Returns:
+//   uvec3: 3D anchor point coordinates in the page table, or (-1, -1, -1) if invalid
+uvec3 getAnchorPoint(int index) {
+    if (index == 0) return anchor0;
+    if (index == 1) return anchor1;
+    if (index == 2) return anchor2;
+    if (index == 3) return anchor3;
+    if (index == 4) return anchor4;
+    if (index == 5) return anchor5;
+    if (index == 6) return anchor6;
+    if (index == 7) return anchor7;
+    if (index == 8) return anchor8;
+    if (index == 9) return anchor9;
+    return uvec3(-1, -1, -1);
+}
+
+// Find the lowest available resolution level
+// Returns the highest resolution index that has valid data
+//
+// Parameters:
+//   None
+//
+// Returns:
+//   int: Highest resolution level index (0-9) that has valid anchor point data
+//        Returns 9 if no valid resolution levels are found
+int getLowestRes() {
+    for (int i = 0; i < 10; i++) {
+        if (getAnchorPoint(i) == uvec3(0,0,0)) {
+            return i - 1;
+        }
+    }
+    return 9;
+}
+
+// Get the downsample factor for a resolution level
+// Scale factors determine the voxel size at each resolution
+//
+// Parameters:
+//   index - int: Resolution level index (0-9, where 0 is highest resolution)
+//
+// Returns:
+//   vec3: Scale factors (x, y, z) for the resolution level, or (-1, -1, -1) if invalid
+//         Higher scale factors indicate larger voxels (lower resolution)
+vec3 getScale(int index) {
+    if (index == 0) return scale0;
+    if (index == 1) return scale1;
+    if (index == 2) return scale2;
+    if (index == 3) return scale3;
+    if (index == 4) return scale4;
+    if (index == 5) return scale5;
+    if (index == 6) return scale6;
+    if (index == 7) return scale7;
+    if (index == 8) return scale8;
+    if (index == 9) return scale9;
+    return vec3(-1.0, -1.0, -1.0);
+}
+
+// Get the resolution range for a color channel
+// Returns (min_res, max_res) for the channel
+//
+// Parameters:
+//   index - int: Channel index (0-6)
+//
+// Returns:
+//   ivec2: Resolution range as (min_resolution_level, max_resolution_level)
+//          Returns (-1, -1) if channel index is invalid
+ivec2 getRes(int index) {
+    if (index == 0) return res0;
+    if (index == 1) return res1;
+    if (index == 2) return res2;
+    if (index == 3) return res3;
+    if (index == 4) return res4;
+    if (index == 5) return res5;
+    if (index == 6) return res6;
+    return ivec2(-1, -1);
+}
+
+// Get the min/max values (contrast limits) for a color channel
+// Returns (min_value, max_value) for normalization
+//
+// Parameters:
+//   index - int: Channel index (0-6)
+//
+// Returns:
+//   vec2: Contrast limits as (min_value, max_value) for data normalization
+//         Returns (-1.0, -1.0) if channel index is invalid
+vec2 getClim(int index) {
+    if (index == 0) return clim0;
+    if (index == 1) return clim1;
+    if (index == 2) return clim2;
+    if (index == 3) return clim3;
+    if (index == 4) return clim4;
+    if (index == 5) return clim5;
+    if (index == 6) return clim6;
+    return vec2(-1.0, -1.0);
+}
+
+// ========================================
+// COORDINATE TRANSFORMATIONS
+// ========================================
+
+// Convert normalized coordinates (0-1) to voxel coordinates.
+// get the voxel coordinate in the specified resolution from the normalized coordinate
+//
+// Parameters:
+//   normalized - vec3: Normalized coordinates in range [0,1] for each axis
+//   res - int: Resolution level (0=highest detail, 9=lowest detail)
+//
+// Returns:
+//   vec3: Voxel coordinates in the volume space at the specified resolution
+vec3 getVoxelFromNormalized(vec3 normalized, int res) {
+    vec3 extents = (vec3(voxelExtents) / getScale(res)); // Voxel extents at this resolution
+    vec3 voxel = normalized * extents;
+    return voxel;
+}
+
+// Convert voxel coordinates to normalized coordinates (0-1)
+// get the normalized coordinate based on the voxel coordinate in the specified resolution
+//
+// Parameters:
+//   voxel - vec3: Voxel coordinates in the volume space
+//   res - int: Resolution level (0=highest detail, 9=lowest detail)
+//
+// Returns:
+//   vec3: Normalized coordinates in range [0,1] for each axis
+vec3 getNormalizedFromVoxel(vec3 voxel, int res) {
+    vec3 extents = (vec3(voxelExtents) / getScale(res)); // Voxel extents at this resolution
+    vec3 normalized = voxel / extents;
+    return normalized;
+}
+
+// Convert normalized coordinates to brick coordinates.
+// get the brick coordinate in the specified resolution based on the normalized coordinate
+// needed for pagetable calculations
+//
+// Parameters:
+//   normalized - vec3: Normalized coordinates in range [0,1] for each axis
+//   res - int: Resolution level (0=highest detail, 9=lowest detail)
+//
+// Returns:
+//   vec3: Brick coordinates (each brick is 32x32x32 voxels)
+vec3 getBrickFromNormalized(vec3 normalized, int res) {
+    vec3 voxel = getVoxelFromNormalized(normalized, res);
+    vec3 brick = floor(voxel / 32.0);  // Each brick is 32x32x32 voxels
+    return brick;
+}
+
+// Convert voxel coordinates to brick coordinates.
+// get the brick coordinate in the specified resolution based on the voxel coordinate
+//
+// Parameters:
+//   voxel - vec3: Voxel coordinates in the volume space
+//   res - int: Resolution level (0=highest detail, 9=lowest detail)
+//
+// Returns:
+//   vec3: Brick coordinates (each brick is 32x32x32 voxels)
+vec3 getBrickFromVoxel(vec3 voxel, int res) {
+    vec3 brick = floor(voxel / 32.0);  // Each brick is 32x32x32 voxels
+    return brick;
+}
+
+// ========================================
+// CHANNEL-SPECIFIC ACCESSORS
+// ========================================
+
+// Get channel offset in page table.
+// get the vector for the specified channel slot in the pagetable
+// Different channels are stored at different Z-offsets in the page table
+//
+// Parameters:
+//   index - int: Channel index (0-6)
+//
+// Returns:
+//   uvec3: 3D offset coordinates for the channel in the page table
+uvec3 getChannelOffset(int index) {
+    if (index == 0) return uvec3(0, 0, 1);
+    if (index == 1) return uvec3(0, 1, 0);
+    if (index == 2) return uvec3(0, 1, 1);
+    if (index == 3) return uvec3(1, 0, 0);
+    if (index == 4) return uvec3(1, 0, 1);
+    if (index == 5) return uvec3(1, 1, 0);
+    if (index == 6) return uvec3(1, 1, 1);
+    return uvec3(0, 0, 0);
+}
+
+// Get color for a channel.
+// get the color per color channel
+//
+// Parameters:
+//   index - int: Channel index (0-6)
+//
+// Returns:
+//   vec3: RGB color values for the specified channel
+vec3 getChannelColor(int index) {
+    if (index == 0) return color0.xyz;
+    if (index == 1) return color1.xyz;
+    if (index == 2) return color2.xyz;
+    if (index == 3) return color3.xyz;
+    if (index == 4) return color4.xyz;
+    if (index == 5) return color5.xyz;
+    if (index == 6) return color6.xyz;
+    return vec3(0.0, 0.0, 0.0);
+}
+
+// Get opacity for a channel
+// get the opacity (used as visibility) per color channel
+//
+// Parameters:
+//   index - int: Channel index (0-6)
+//
+// Returns:
+//   float: Opacity value (0.0-1.0) for the specified channel
+float getChannelOpacity(int index) {
+    if (index == 0) return color0.w;
+    if (index == 1) return color1.w;
+    if (index == 2) return color2.w;
+    if (index == 3) return color3.w;
+    if (index == 4) return color4.w;
+    if (index == 5) return color5.w;
+    if (index == 6) return color6.w;
+    return 0.0;
+}
+
+// ========================================
+// PAGE TABLE DECODING
+// ========================================
+
+/**
+ * retrieving the brick based on:
+ * location   -- normalized coordinate
+ * targetRes  -- target resolution
+ * channel    -- physical channel slot
+ * rnd        -- random number for jittering requests 
+ * query      -- whether to query the brick (we dont query for interblock interpolation)
+ * colorIndex -- color index for querying the min max values
+ * 
+ * returns:
+ * w >= 0 -- xyz contains brick cache coordinate, w stores resolution
+ * w == -1 -- not resident in any resolution, should be treated as empty
+ * w == -2 -- empty (with respect to current transfer function)
+ * w == -3 -- constant full (with respect to current transfer function)
+ * w == -4 -- constant value within range, x stores that value
+ *
+ * bit layout:
+ * [1] 31    | 0 — flag resident
+ * [1] 30    | 1 — flag init
+ * [7] 23…29 | 2…8 — min → 128
+ * [7] 16…22 | 9…15 — max → 128
+ * [6] 10…15 | 16…21 — x offset in brick cache → max 64
+ * [6] 4…9   | 22…27 — y offset in brick cache →  max 64
+ * [4] 0…3   | 28…31 — z offset in brick cache → max 16, effectively 4
+*/
+
+/*
+Page table entry format (32 bits):
+[31]    | 0 — flag resident (1=loaded in cache)
+[30]    | 1 — flag init (1=initialized)
+[29:23] | 2…8 — min value (7 bits) → 128 levels
+[22:16] | 9…15 — max value (7 bits) → 128 levels  
+[15:10] | 16…21 — x offset in brick cache (6 bits) → 64 bricks
+[9:4]   | 22…27 — y offset in brick cache (6 bits) → 64 bricks
+[3:0]   | 28…31 — z offset in brick cache (4 bits) → 16 bricks
+*/
+
+// Query page table to find brick location and status
+// Searches for a brick at the specified location across multiple resolution levels
+// and returns its cache coordinates and status information
+//
+// Parameters:
+//   location - vec3: Normalized coordinates (0-1) within the volume
+//   targetRes - int: Target resolution level to start searching from
+//   channel - int: Channel index (0-6) to query
+//   rnd - float: Random value (0-1) used for brick loading request selection
+//   query - bool: Whether to allow brick loading requests (true) or just query (false)
+//   colorIndex - int
+//
+// Returns:
+//   ivec4: (x_offset, y_offset, z_offset, status) where:
+//     - x_offset, y_offset, z_offset: Brick cache coordinates if found
+//     - status: Resolution level (>=0) if found, or status code:
+//       * -1: Not found at any resolution level
+//       * -2: Empty brick (all values below threshold)
+//       * -3: Constant full brick (all values above threshold)
+//       * -4: Constant value brick (uniform value)
+// add maxres here
+ivec4 getBrickLocation(vec3 location, int targetRes, int channel, float rnd, bool query, int colorIndex) {
+
+    // min max for current color 
+    vec2 clim = getClim(colorIndex);
+
+    // resolution ranges, TODO: connect this back to color
+    int channelMin = getRes(channel).x;
+    int channelMax = getRes(channel).y;
+
+    // Clamp resolution to channel's available range
+    int currentRes = clamp(targetRes, channelMin, channelMax);
+    currentRes = clamp(currentRes, resGlobal.x, resGlobal.y);
+    int lowestRes = clamp(resGlobal.y, channelMin, channelMax);
+
+    // Determine if this channel should request brick loading.
+    // request the current channel based on probability
+    bool requestChannel = false;
+    if (int(floor(rnd * float(maxChannels))) == colorIndex) {
+        requestChannel = true;
+    }
+
+    // Try progressively lower resolutions until we find data.
+    // loop through resolutions
+    while (currentRes <= lowestRes) {
+
+        // Calculate page table coordinates for this brick
+        uvec3 anchorPoint = getAnchorPoint(currentRes);
+        vec3 brickLocation = getBrickFromNormalized(location, currentRes);
+        uvec3 channelOffset = getChannelOffset(channel);
+        vec3 coordinate = floor(vec3(anchorPoint * channelOffset)) + brickLocation;
+        
+        // Special handling for resolution 0 (highest detail)
+        if (currentRes == 0) {
+            int zExtent = int(ceil(float(voxelExtents.z) / 32.0));
+            coordinate = vec3(anchorPoint) + vec3(0.0, 0.0, zExtent * channel) + brickLocation;
+        }
+
+        // Query the page table.
+        // get PT entry
+        uint ptEntry = texelFetch(pageTableTex, ivec3(coordinate), 0).r;
+
+        // Check if brick is initialized.
+        // check if the PT entry is initialized
+        uint isInit = (ptEntry >> 30u) & 1u;
+        if (isInit == 0u) { 
+            currentRes++; 
+            // Request brick loading if needed
+            if (requestChannel == true && (gRequest.a + gRequest.b + gRequest.g + gRequest.r == 0.0) && query == true) {
+                gRequest = packPTCoordToRGBA8(uvec3(coordinate));
+            }
+            continue;
+        }
+        
+        // Extract min/max values from page table entry.
+        // get the min max values of the brick
+        uint umin = ((ptEntry >> 23u) & 0x7Fu);
+        uint umax = ((ptEntry >> 16u) & 0x7Fu);
+        float min = float(int(umin)) / 127.0;
+        float max = float(int(umax)) / 127.0;
+        
+        // Check if brick is empty (all values below threshold).
+        // exit early if brick is constant
+        if (float(max) <= clim.x) {
+            return ivec4(0,0,0,-2);
+            // EMPTY
+        } else if (float(min) >= clim.y) {
+            return ivec4(0,0,0,-3);  // CONSTANT FULL
+        } else if ((umax - umin) < 2u) {
+            return ivec4(min,0,0,-4);  // CONSTANT OTHER VALUE
+        }
+        
+        // Check if brick is resident in cache.
+        // return brick cache location if resident
+        // continue to next resolution if not resident
+        uint isResident = (ptEntry >> 31u) & 1u;
+        if (isResident == 0u) {
+            currentRes++;
+            // Request brick loading if needed
+            if (requestChannel == true && (gRequest.a + gRequest.b + gRequest.g + gRequest.r == 0.0) && query == true) {
+                gRequest = packPTCoordToRGBA8(uvec3(coordinate));
+            }
+            continue;
+        } else {
+            // Extract brick cache coordinates
+            uint xBrickCache = (ptEntry >> 10u) & 0x3Fu;
+            uint yBrickCache = (ptEntry >> 4u) & 0x3Fu;
+            uint zBrickCache = ptEntry & 0xFu;
+            uvec3 brickCacheCoord = uvec3(xBrickCache, yBrickCache, zBrickCache);
+
+            return ivec4(brickCacheCoord, currentRes);
+        }
+    }
+
+    // not resident in any resolution, should be treated as empty
+    return ivec4(0,0,0,-1);  // Not found
+}
+
+// Request brick loading for a specific location and resolution.
+// Initiates a request to load a brick from disk into the brick cache.
+// set the brick request for the specified slot channel
+//
+// Parameters:
+//   location - vec3: Normalized world space coordinates (0.0 to 1.0) where the brick is needed
+//   targetRes - int: Target resolution level (0-9, where 0 is highest resolution)
+//   channel - int: Channel index (0-6) for multi-channel datasets
+//   rnd - float: Random value between 0.0 and 1.0 used for load balancing across channels
+//
+// Returns:
+//   void: No return value, but sets gRequest output variable if conditions are met
+void setBrickRequest(vec3 location, int targetRes, int channel, float rnd) {
+    uvec3 anchorPoint = getAnchorPoint(targetRes);
+    vec3 brickLocation = getBrickFromNormalized(location, targetRes);
+    uvec3 channelOffset = getChannelOffset(channel);
+    vec3 coordinate = floor(vec3(anchorPoint * channelOffset)) + brickLocation;
+    
+    // Special handling for resolution 0
+    if (targetRes == 0) {
+        int zExtent = int(ceil(float(voxelExtents.z) / 32.0));
+        coordinate = vec3(anchorPoint) + vec3(0.0, 0.0, zExtent * channel) + brickLocation;
+    }
+    
+    // Pack coordinates and set request
+    if (int(floor(rnd * float(maxChannels))) == channel) {
+        gRequest = packPTCoordToRGBA8(uvec3(coordinate));
+    }
+}
+
+// Track brick usage for cache management.
+// Records which brick in the cache is being accessed for LRU (Least Recently Used) eviction.
+// set the usage for the specified brick
+//
+// Parameters:
+//   brickCacheOffset - ivec3: 3D coordinates of the brick within the brick cache texture
+//   t_hit_min_os - float: Ray entry time in object space (start of ray-volume intersection)
+//   t_hit_max_os - float: Ray exit time in object space (end of ray-volume intersection)
+//   t_os - float: Current sampling position along the ray in object space
+//   rnd - float: Random value between 0.0 and 1.0 used for probabilistic usage tracking
+//
+// Returns:
+//   void: No return value, but sets gUsage output variable to track cache access patterns
+void setUsage(ivec3 brickCacheOffset, float t_hit_min_os, float t_hit_max_os, float t_os, float rnd) {
+    float normalized_t_os = (t_os - t_hit_min_os) / (t_hit_max_os - t_hit_min_os); // Normalize to 0-1
+    if (normalized_t_os <= rnd || gUsage == vec4(0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0)) {
+        gUsage = vec4(vec3(brickCacheOffset) / 255.0, 1.0);
+    }
+}
+
+// ========================================
+// UTILITY FUNCTIONS
+// ========================================
+
+// Get maximum component of a 3D vector.
+// get the max value of a vec3
+//
+// Parameters:
+//   v - vec3: Input 3D vector
+//
+// Returns:
+//   float: The maximum value among the x, y, and z components
+float vec3_max(vec3 v) {
+    return max(v.x, max(v.y, v.z));
+}
+
+// Get minimum component of a 3D vector.
+// get the min value of a vec3
+//
+// Parameters:
+//   v - vec3: Input 3D vector
+//
+// Returns:
+//   float: The minimum value among the x, y, and z components
+float vec3_min(vec3 v) {
+    return min(v.x, min(v.y, v.z));
+}
+
+// Calculate level-of-detail based on distance.
+// Uses logarithmic scaling to determine appropriate resolution level.
+// get the LOD based on the distance to the camera
+//
+// Parameters:
+//   distance - float: Distance from camera to sampling point
+//   highestRes - int: Highest available resolution level (typically 0)
+//   lowestRes - int: Lowest available resolution level (typically 9)
+//   lodFactor - float: Scaling factor that controls LOD sensitivity
+//
+// Returns:
+//   int: Resolution level index (0-9) where 0 is highest resolution
+int getLOD(float distance, int highestRes, int lowestRes, float lodFactor) {
+    int lod = int(log2(distance * lodFactor));
+    return clamp(lod, highestRes, lowestRes);
+}
+
+// Calculate step size for ray marching at a given resolution.
+// Determines optimal sampling step size based on voxel dimensions and ray direction.
+// get the voxel step in object space
+//
+// Parameters:
+//   res - int: Resolution level index (0-9, where 0 is highest resolution)
+//   osDir - vec3: Ray direction vector in object space (should be normalized)
+//
+// Returns:
+//   float: Optimal step size in object space units for stable ray marching
+float voxelStepOS(int res, vec3 osDir) {
+    vec3 voxelSize = getScale(res) / vec3(voxelExtents);
+    vec3 dt_vec = voxelSize / abs(osDir);
+    return min(dt_vec.x, min(dt_vec.y, dt_vec.z));
+}
+
+// ========================================
+// INTERPOLATION FUNCTIONS
+// ========================================
+
+// Linear interpolation between two values.
+// Performs smooth interpolation between two scalar values.
+//
+// Parameters:
+//   v0 - float: First value to interpolate from
+//   v1 - float: Second value to interpolate to
+//   fx - float: Interpolation factor between 0.0 and 1.0
+//
+// Returns:
+//   float: Interpolated value between v0 and v1 based on fx
+float lerp(float v0, float v1, float fx) {
+    return mix(v0, v1, fx); // (1-fx)·v0 + fx·v1
+}
+
+// Bilinear interpolation between four values
+// Performs 2D interpolation using four corner values arranged in a square
+//
+// Parameters:
+//   v00 - float: Bottom-left corner value
+//   v10 - float: Bottom-right corner value
+//   v01 - float: Top-left corner value
+//   v11 - float: Top-right corner value
+//   f - vec2: 2D interpolation factors (x, y) between 0.0 and 1.0
+//
+// Returns:
+//   float: Interpolated value from the four corner values
+float bilerp(float v00, float v10, float v01, float v11, vec2 f) {
+    float c0 = mix(v00, v10, f.x); // Interpolate in X on bottom row
+    float c1 = mix(v01, v11, f.x); // Interpolate in X on top row
+    return mix(c0, c1, f.y); // Now interpolate those in Y
+}
+
+// Trilinear interpolation between eight values
+// Performs 3D interpolation using eight corner values arranged in a cube
+//
+// Parameters:
+//   v000 - float: Bottom-left-back corner value
+//   v100 - float: Bottom-right-back corner value
+//   v010 - float: Bottom-left-front corner value
+//   v110 - float: Bottom-right-front corner value
+//   v001 - float: Top-left-back corner value
+//   v101 - float: Top-right-back corner value
+//   v011 - float: Top-left-front corner value
+//   v111 - float: Top-right-front corner value
+//   f - vec3: 3D interpolation factors (x, y, z) between 0.0 and 1.0
+//
+// Returns:
+//   float: Interpolated value from the eight corner values
+float trilerp(
+    float v000, float v100, float v010, float v110,
+    float v001, float v101, float v011, float v111,
+    vec3 f) { // f = fract(coord)
+    // Interpolate along X for each of the four bottom-face voxels
+    float c00 = mix(v000, v100, f.x);
+    float c10 = mix(v010, v110, f.x);
+    float c01 = mix(v001, v101, f.x);
+    float c11 = mix(v011, v111, f.x);
+
+    // Interpolate those along Y
+    float c0 = mix(c00, c10, f.y);
+    float c1 = mix(c01, c11, f.y);
+
+    // Final interpolation along Z
+    return mix(c0, c1, f.z);
+}
+
+// ========================================
+// BRICK CACHE SAMPLING
+// ========================================
+
+// Sample a value from the brick cache texture.
+// Converts brick coordinates and voxel position to texture coordinates for sampling.
+// sample the brick cache based on the brick cache coordinate and the in-brick coordinate
+//
+// Parameters:
+//   brickCacheCoord - vec3: 3D coordinates of the brick within the brick cache
+//   voxelInBrick - vec3: 3D coordinates of the voxel within the brick (0-31 in each dimension)
+//
+// Returns:
+//   float: Sampled voxel value from the brick cache texture (typically normalized 0.0-1.0)
+float sampleBrick(vec3 brickCacheCoord, vec3 voxelInBrick) {
+    vec3 brickCacheCoordNormalized = vec3(
+        (float(brickCacheCoord.x) * BRICK_SIZE + float(voxelInBrick.x)) / BRICK_CACHE_SIZE_X,
+        (float(brickCacheCoord.y) * BRICK_SIZE + float(voxelInBrick.y)) / BRICK_CACHE_SIZE_Y,
+        (float(brickCacheCoord.z) * BRICK_SIZE + float(voxelInBrick.z)) / BRICK_CACHE_SIZE_Z
+    );
+    return texture(brickCacheTex, brickCacheCoordNormalized).r;
+}
+
+/**
+ * main renderloop
+*/
+void main(void) {
+
+    // ========================================
+    // INITIALIZATION
+    // ========================================
+    
+    // Initialize all render targets (multiple output textures)
+    gRequest = vec4(0,0,0,0);  // Brick loading requests
+    gUsage = vec4(0,0,0,0);    // Brick usage tracking
+    gColor = vec4(0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0);  // Final color output
+
+    // out color sums up our accumulated value before writing it into the gColor buffer
+    vec4 outColor = vec4(0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0);  // Accumulated color
+
+    // Generate random number for jittered sampling (reduces artifacts)
+    float rnd = random();
+
+    // Get the lowest available resolution level
+    int lowestDataRes = getLowestRes();
+
+    // ========================================
+    // RAY-VOLUME INTERSECTION
+    // ========================================
+    
+    // Normalize the view ray direction
+    vec3 ws_rayDir = normalize(rayDirUnnorm);
+    
+    // Calculate intersection with volume bounding box
+    // Returns (entry_time, exit_time) for the ray-box intersection
+    vec2 t_hit = intersect_hit(cameraCorrected, ws_rayDir);
+    if (t_hit.x >= t_hit.y) { discard; }  // Ray misses volume entirely
+    
+    t_hit.x = max(t_hit.x, 0.0); // Clamp entry to 0 (no negative distances)
+    float t = t_hit.x;
+    
+    // Calculate distance from camera for LOD selection
+    float distance = abs((cameraCorrected / boxSize).z + (ws_rayDir / boxSize).z * t );
+
+    // ========================================
+    // COORDINATE SPACE CONVERSION
+    // ========================================
+    
+    // Convert from world space to object space (normalized 0-1 coordinates)
+    float ws2os = length(ws_rayDir / boxSize);  // Scale factor for conversion
+    float t_hit_min_os = t_hit.x * ws2os;       // Entry point in object space
+    float t_hit_max_os = t_hit.y * ws2os;       // Exit point in object space
+    float t_os = t_hit_min_os;                  // Current position in object space
+
+    // Calculate effective LOD factor based on volume size.
+    // voxel edge is the max extent of the volume
+    float voxelEdge = float(max(voxelExtents.x, max(voxelExtents.y, voxelExtents.z)));
+
+    // calculate LOD factor based on the voxel edge
+    float lodFactorEffective = lodFactor * voxelEdge / 256.0;
+
+    // ========================================
+    // RESOLUTION AND SAMPLING SETUP
+    // ========================================
+    
+    // Determine target resolution based on distance (LOD)
+    int targetRes = getLOD(t, 0, 9, lodFactorEffective);
+    
+    // Set adaptive stepping resolution
+    int stepResAdaptive = renderRes;
+    int stepResEffective = clamp(stepResAdaptive, 0, lowestDataRes);
+
+    // Convert ray to object space coordinates
+    vec3 os_rayDir = normalize(ws_rayDir / boxSize);
+    vec3 os_rayOrigin = cameraCorrected / boxSize + vec3(0.5);
+    
+    // Calculate step size based on current resolution
+    float dt = voxelStepOS(stepResEffective, os_rayDir);
+
+    // ========================================
+    // SAMPLING POSITION INITIALIZATION
+    // ========================================
+    
+    // Convert to normalized sampling coordinates (0-1 range)
+    vec3 p = cameraCorrected + t_hit.x * ws_rayDir;
+    p = p / boxSize + vec3(0.5); // Transform to 0-1 range
+    
+    // Calculate step vector in normalized space
+    vec3 dp = (os_rayDir * dt);
+    
+    // Apply jittered sampling to reduce artifacts
+    p += dp * (rnd);
+    // Avoid boundary issues
+    p = clamp(p, 0.0 + 0.0000028, 1.0 - 0.0000028);
+
+    // ========================================
+    // RENDERING VARIABLES
+    // ========================================
+    
+    // Color accumulation for front-to-back compositing.
+    // color accumulation variables, are calculated per 'slice'
+    vec3 rgbCombo = vec3(0.0);
+    float total = 0.0;
+
+    // For alpha blending.
+    // alpha accumulation variable runs globally
+    float alphaMultiplicator = 1.0;
+
+    // Request tracking (for brick loading).
+    // if we have a request for a brick which not visible in lower
+    // resolutions, we can overwrite it once
+    bool overWrittenRequest = false;
+
+    // Current state tracking
+    vec3 currentTargetResPTCoord = vec3(0,0,0);
+    int currentLOD = targetRes;
+
+    // ========================================
+    // CHANNEL-SPECIFIC CONSTANTS
+    // ========================================
+    
+    // Pre-compute channel properties for efficiency.
+    // constants per color channel
+    vec3 [] c_color = vec3[7](getChannelColor(0), getChannelColor(1), getChannelColor(2), getChannelColor(3), getChannelColor(4), getChannelColor(5), getChannelColor(6));
+    float [] c_opacity = float[7](getChannelOpacity(0), getChannelOpacity(1), getChannelOpacity(2), getChannelOpacity(3), getChannelOpacity(4), getChannelOpacity(5), getChannelOpacity(6));
+    // resolution ranges (currently) per color channel
+    // TODO: figure out how to hook it up with frontend
+    int [] c_res_min = int[7](getRes(0).x, getRes(1).x, getRes(2).x, getRes(3).x, getRes(4).x, getRes(5).x, getRes(6).x);
+    int [] c_res_max = int[7](getRes(0).y, getRes(1).y, getRes(2).y, getRes(3).y, getRes(4).y, getRes(5).y, getRes(6).y);
+    
+    // ========================================
+    // PER-CHANNEL STATE ARRAYS
+    // ========================================
+    
+    // Current state for each channel.
+    // current state variables per color channel
+    
+    // current resolution
+    int []   c_res_current =             int[7](0,0,0,0,0,0,0);
+    // current value
+    float [] c_val_current =             float[7](0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0);
+    // current brick cache coordinate
+    vec3 []  c_brickCacheCoord_current = vec3[7](vec3(0.0), vec3(0.0), vec3(0.0), vec3(0.0), vec3(0.0), vec3(0.0), vec3(0.0));
+    // current voxel in current resolution
+    vec3 []  c_voxel_current =           vec3[7](vec3(0.0), vec3(0.0), vec3(0.0), vec3(0.0), vec3(0.0), vec3(0.0), vec3(0.0));
+    // current pagetable coordinate
+    vec3 []  c_ptCoord_current =         vec3[7](vec3(0.0), vec3(0.0), vec3(0.0), vec3(0.0), vec3(0.0), vec3(0.0), vec3(0.0));
+    // current render mode -- 0: empty (add 0), 1: constant (add current val), 2: voxel (query new voxel)
+    // upon change of PT we re-query anyways
+    int []   c_renderMode_current =      int[7](-1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1);
+    
+    // Adjacent brick caching for interpolation
+    // current pagetable coordinate of the adjacent bricks in X, Y, Z or diagonal direction
+    vec3 []  c_PT_X_adjacent =           vec3[7](vec3(-1.0), vec3(-1.0), vec3(-1.0), vec3(-1.0), vec3(-1.0), vec3(-1.0), vec3(-1.0));
+    vec3 []  c_PT_Y_adjacent =           vec3[7](vec3(-1.0), vec3(-1.0), vec3(-1.0), vec3(-1.0), vec3(-1.0), vec3(-1.0), vec3(-1.0));
+    vec3 []  c_PT_Z_adjacent =           vec3[7](vec3(-1.0), vec3(-1.0), vec3(-1.0), vec3(-1.0), vec3(-1.0), vec3(-1.0), vec3(-1.0));
+    vec3 []  c_PT_XYZ_adjacent =         vec3[7](vec3(-1.0), vec3(-1.0), vec3(-1.0), vec3(-1.0), vec3(-1.0), vec3(-1.0), vec3(-1.0));
+    // corresponding brick coordinates of the adjacent bricks in X, Y, Z or diagonal direction
+    vec4 []  c_brick_X_adjacent =        vec4[7](vec4(-1.0), vec4(-1.0), vec4(-1.0), vec4(-1.0), vec4(-1.0), vec4(-1.0), vec4(-1.0));
+    vec4 []  c_brick_Y_adjacent =        vec4[7](vec4(-1.0), vec4(-1.0), vec4(-1.0), vec4(-1.0), vec4(-1.0), vec4(-1.0), vec4(-1.0));
+    vec4 []  c_brick_Z_adjacent =        vec4[7](vec4(-1.0), vec4(-1.0), vec4(-1.0), vec4(-1.0), vec4(-1.0), vec4(-1.0), vec4(-1.0));
+    vec4 []  c_brick_XYZ_adjacent =      vec4[7](vec4(-1.0), vec4(-1.0), vec4(-1.0), vec4(-1.0), vec4(-1.0), vec4(-1.0), vec4(-1.0));
+
+    // Min/max tracking for MIP/MinIP rendering.
+    // min and max values of the current color
+    // used for minimum/maximum intensity projection
+    float [] c_minVal = float[7](-1.0, -1.0, -1.0, -1.0, -1.0, -1.0, -1.0);
+    float [] c_maxVal = float[7](0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0);
+
+    // Per-resolution coordinate tracking
+    vec3 [] r_ptCoord = vec3[10](vec3(-1.0), vec3(-1.0), vec3(-1.0), vec3(-1.0), vec3(-1.0), vec3(-1.0), vec3(-1.0), vec3(-1.0), vec3(-1.0), vec3(-1.0));
+    vec3 [] r_voxel = vec3[10](vec3(-1.0), vec3(-1.0), vec3(-1.0), vec3(-1.0), vec3(-1.0), vec3(-1.0), vec3(-1.0), vec3(-1.0), vec3(-1.0), vec3(-1.0));
+    vec3 [] r_prevPTCoord = vec3[10](vec3(-1.0), vec3(-1.0), vec3(-1.0), vec3(-1.0), vec3(-1.0), vec3(-1.0), vec3(-1.0), vec3(-1.0), vec3(-1.0), vec3(-1.0));
+    vec3 [] r_prevVoxel = vec3[10](vec3(-1.0), vec3(-1.0), vec3(-1.0), vec3(-1.0), vec3(-1.0), vec3(-1.0), vec3(-1.0), vec3(-1.0), vec3(-1.0), vec3(-1.0));
+
+    // resolution changed flag
+    bool resolutionChanged = false;
+    // number of repetitions (for debugging purposes)
+    int reps = 0;
+
+    // ========================================
+    // MAIN RAY-MARCHING LOOP
+    // ========================================
+    
+    // while we are 'in' the volume.
+    // Continue marching until we exit the volume or reach maximum opacity.
+    while (t_os < t_hit_max_os && t_os >= t_hit_min_os
+        && vec3_max(p) < 1.0 && vec3_min(p) >= 0.0
+    ) {
+
+        // Reset per-sample accumulation.
+        // initialize slice values
+        vec3 rgbCombo = vec3(0.0);
+        float total   = 0.0;
+
+        // Update target resolution based on current distance (with jitter).
+        // calculate target resolution based on distance and lod factor
+        targetRes = getLOD(t, 0, 9, lodFactorEffective * (0.999 + 0.002 * rnd));
+
+        // ========================================
+        // RESOLUTION CHANGE HANDLING
+        // ========================================
+        
+        // if target resolution changed, update the current resolution and stepsize
+        if (targetRes != currentLOD) {
+            currentLOD = targetRes;
+            stepResAdaptive++;
+            stepResEffective = clamp(stepResAdaptive, 0, lowestDataRes);
+            
+            // Adjust sampling position for new resolution
+            p -= dp * rnd;
+            dt = voxelStepOS(stepResEffective, os_rayDir);
+            dp = os_rayDir * dt;
+            p += dp * rnd;
+            resolutionChanged = true;
+
+            // Check bounds after resolution change
+            if (p.x < 0.0 || p.x >= 1.0 || p.y < 0.0 || p.y >= 1.0 || p.z < 0.0 || p.z >= 1.0) {
+                break;
+            }
+        } else {
+            resolutionChanged = false;
+        }
+
+        // ========================================
+        // UPDATE COORDINATES FOR ALL RESOLUTIONS
+        // ========================================
+        
+        // Calculate page table coordinates and voxel positions for all resolution levels
+        for (int r = 0; r < 10; r++) {
+            r_prevPTCoord[r] = r_ptCoord[r];
+            r_prevVoxel[r] = r_voxel[r];
+            r_ptCoord[r] = getBrickFromNormalized(p, r);
+            r_voxel[r] = getVoxelFromNormalized(p, r);
+        }
+
+        // ========================================
+        // RENDER MODE DEFINITIONS
+        // ========================================
+        // 0: empty brick (no data)
+        // 1: constant brick (uniform value)
+        // 2: voxel brick (variable data)
+
+        // initialize the per channel slice values
+        vec3 sliceColor = vec3(0.0);
+        float sliceAlpha = 0.0;
+
+        // ========================================
+        // MULTI-CHANNEL SAMPLING
+        // ========================================
+        
+        // Process each channel independently.
+        // iterate over up to 7 channels by color
+        for (int c = 0; c < 7; c++) {
+            // Skip channels with zero opacity.
+            // skip if opacity is 0 or if color is not mapped to a physical slot
+            if (c_opacity[c] <= 0.000001) {
+                continue;
+            } else if (channelMapping[c] == -1) {
+                continue;
+            }
+
+            // physical slot in pagetable
+            int slot = channelMapping[c];
+
+            // keep track of status
+            bool newBrick = false;
+            bool newVoxel = false;
+            // best possible resolution
+            int bestRes = clamp(targetRes, c_res_min[c], c_res_max[c]);
+
+            // Check if we need to load a new brick at a better resolution.
+            // check if any new better resolution could be available, if so, we need to re-query the brick
+            bool betterResChanged = false;
+            for (int r = bestRes; r <= c_res_current[c]; r++ ) {
+                if (r_ptCoord[r] != r_prevPTCoord[r]) {
+                    betterResChanged = true;
+                    break;
+                }
+            }
+
+            // Determine if we need to load new brick data.
+            // check if we need to re-query the brick / voxel or reuse past 'val'
+            if (r_ptCoord[bestRes] != r_prevPTCoord[bestRes]
+                || c_renderMode_current[c] == -1
+                || resolutionChanged == true
+                || betterResChanged
+                ) {
+                newBrick = true;
+                newVoxel = true;
+            } else if (c_renderMode_current[c] == 2) {
+                newVoxel = true;
+            } else if (c_renderMode_current[c] == 0) {
+                continue;  // Skip empty bricks
+            }
+
+            // ========================================
+            // BRICK LOADING AND CACHING
+            // ========================================
+            
+            // check if a new brick is available in the best possible resolution
+            if (newBrick) {
+                // Query page table for brick location and status
+                ivec4 brickCacheInfo = getBrickLocation(p, bestRes, slot, rnd, true, c);
+                // check information about the newly queried brick
+                // if the res is not at best res, possibly the same as previous brick
+                if (brickCacheInfo.w == -1 || brickCacheInfo.w == -2) {
+                    // Empty brick - no data available.
+                    // we can skip the rest of the loop
+                    c_val_current[c] = 0.0;
+                    c_renderMode_current[c] = 0;
+                    c_minVal[c] = 0.0;
+                    continue;
+                } else if (brickCacheInfo.w == -3) {
+                    // Solid brick - constant maximum value.
+                    // we set the value and do not need to query a voxel
+                    c_val_current[c] = 1.0;
+                    c_renderMode_current[c] = 1;
+                    c_maxVal[c] = 1.0;
+                    newVoxel = false;
+                } else if (brickCacheInfo.w == -4) {
+                    // Constant brick - uniform value.
+                    // static value -- we set the value and do not need to query a voxel
+                    float val = float(brickCacheInfo.x);
+                    c_val_current[c] = max(0.0, (val - getClim(c).x) / (getClim(c).y - getClim(c).x));
+                    c_renderMode_current[c] = 1;
+                    newVoxel = false;
+                } else if (brickCacheInfo.w >= 0) {
+                    // Voxel brick - variable data, load from cache.
+                    // new brick -- we set the coordinate and resolution and need to query a voxel
+                    c_res_current[c] = brickCacheInfo.w;
+                    c_ptCoord_current[c] = r_ptCoord[c_res_current[c]];
+                    c_brickCacheCoord_current[c] = vec3(brickCacheInfo.xyz);
+                    c_renderMode_current[c] = 2;
+                    newVoxel = true;
+                    
+                    // Track brick usage for cache management.
+                    // we set the usage of the brick based on the channel and the relative distance into the cube
+                    if (int(floor(rnd * float(maxChannels))) == c) {
+                        setUsage(brickCacheInfo.xyz, t_hit_min_os, t_hit_max_os, t_os, rnd);
+                    }
+                }
+            }
+            
+            // ========================================
+            // VOXEL SAMPLING WITH INTERPOLATION
+            // ========================================
+            
+            // we need to query a new voxel e.g. sample the brick cache
+            if (newVoxel) {
+                c_voxel_current[c] = r_voxel[c_res_current[c]];
+
+                // we clamp the coordinate to be inside the brick and sample the volume
+                reps++;
+                
+                // Calculate position within the brick (0-31 range)
+                vec3 voxelInBrick = mod(c_voxel_current[c], 32.0);
+                vec3 clampedVoxelInBrick = clamp(voxelInBrick, 0.5, 31.5);
+                // Sample the brick cache texture
+                float val = sampleBrick(c_brickCacheCoord_current[c].xyz, clampedVoxelInBrick);
+
+                // ========================================
+                // HIGH-QUALITY INTERPOLATION (renderRes == 0)
+                // ========================================
+                
+                // interblock interpolation
+                if (renderRes == 0) {
+                    // calculate what axis we need to interpolate
+                    
+                    // Check if we're near brick boundaries (need interpolation)
+                    bvec3 clampedMin = lessThan(voxelInBrick, clampedVoxelInBrick);
+                    bvec3 clampedMax = greaterThan(voxelInBrick, clampedVoxelInBrick);
+                    bvec3 clamped = bvec3(clampedMin.x || clampedMax.x, clampedMin.y || clampedMax.y, clampedMin.z || clampedMax.z);
+                    vec3 diff = voxelInBrick - clampedVoxelInBrick;
+                    
+                    if (any(clampedMin) || any(clampedMax)) {                       
+                        int boundaryAxes = int(clamped.x) + int(clamped.y) + int(clamped.z);
+                        float f = 0.0;
+                                                
+                        if (boundaryAxes == 1) {
+                            // Linear interpolation across one boundary
+                            vec3 otherGlobalVoxelPos = vec3(0,0,0);
+                            vec3 otherP = vec3(0,0,0);
+                            float otherVoxelVal = 0.0;
+
+                            // Determine which axis we're interpolating across
+                            if (clampedMin.x) {
+                                otherGlobalVoxelPos = c_voxel_current[c] - vec3(1.0, 0.0, 0.0);
+                                otherP = getNormalizedFromVoxel(otherGlobalVoxelPos, c_res_current[c]);
+                                f = abs(diff.x);
+                            } else if (clampedMax.x) {
+                                otherGlobalVoxelPos = c_voxel_current[c] + vec3(1.0, 0.0, 0.0);
+                                otherP = getNormalizedFromVoxel(otherGlobalVoxelPos, c_res_current[c]);
+                                f = abs(diff.x);
+                            } else if (clampedMin.y) {
+                                otherGlobalVoxelPos = c_voxel_current[c] - vec3(0.0, 1.0, 0.0);
+                                otherP = getNormalizedFromVoxel(otherGlobalVoxelPos, c_res_current[c]);
+                                f = abs(diff.y);
+                            } else if (clampedMax.y) {
+                                otherGlobalVoxelPos = c_voxel_current[c] + vec3(0.0, 1.0, 0.0);
+                                otherP = getNormalizedFromVoxel(otherGlobalVoxelPos, c_res_current[c]);
+                                f = abs(diff.y);
+                            } else if (clampedMin.z) {
+                                otherGlobalVoxelPos = c_voxel_current[c] - vec3(0.0, 0.0, 1.0);
+                                otherP = getNormalizedFromVoxel(otherGlobalVoxelPos, c_res_current[c]);
+                                f = abs(diff.z);
+                            } else if (clampedMax.z) {
+                                otherGlobalVoxelPos = c_voxel_current[c] + vec3(0.0, 0.0, 1.0); 
+                                otherP = getNormalizedFromVoxel(otherGlobalVoxelPos, c_res_current[c]);
+                                f = abs(diff.z);
+                            }
+
+                            // Sample the neighboring voxel
+                            vec3 otherPTcoord = getBrickFromNormalized(otherP, c_res_current[c]);
+                            otherPTcoord = getBrickFromVoxel(otherGlobalVoxelPos, c_res_current[c]);
+                            vec3 otherVoxelInBrick = mod(otherGlobalVoxelPos, 32.0);
+                            otherVoxelInBrick -= diff;
+
+                            // Check if neighbor is outside volume bounds
+                            if (otherP.x < 0.0 || otherP.x >= 1.0 || otherP.y < 0.0 || otherP.y >= 1.0 || otherP.z < 0.0 || otherP.z >= 1.0) {
+                                otherVoxelVal = val;
+                            } else if (otherPTcoord == c_PT_XYZ_adjacent[c].xyz && c_brick_XYZ_adjacent[c].w >= 0.0) {
+                                // Use cached adjacent brick
+                                otherVoxelVal = sampleBrick(c_brick_XYZ_adjacent[c].xyz, otherVoxelInBrick);
+                            } else {
+                                // Load new adjacent brick
+                                ivec4 otherBrickCacheInfo = ivec4(-1);
+                                if (otherPTcoord == c_PT_XYZ_adjacent[c].xyz) {
+                                    otherBrickCacheInfo = ivec4(c_brick_XYZ_adjacent[c]);
+                                } else {
+                                    otherBrickCacheInfo = getBrickLocation(otherP, c_res_current[c], slot, rnd, false, c); 
+                                }
+                                if (otherBrickCacheInfo.w == -1 || otherBrickCacheInfo.w == -2) {
+                                    otherVoxelVal = val;
+                                } else if (otherBrickCacheInfo.w == -3) {
+                                    otherVoxelVal = 1.0;
+                                } else if (otherBrickCacheInfo.w == -4) {
+                                    otherVoxelVal = float(otherBrickCacheInfo.x);
+                                } else {
+                                    // TODO: we do not recalculate the voxelInBrick based on the resolution
+                                    otherVoxelVal = sampleBrick(vec3(otherBrickCacheInfo.xyz), otherVoxelInBrick);
+                                }
+                                c_PT_XYZ_adjacent[c] = getBrickFromVoxel(otherGlobalVoxelPos, c_res_current[c]); 
+                                c_brick_XYZ_adjacent[c] = vec4(otherBrickCacheInfo);
+                            }
+                            
+                            // Perform linear interpolation
+                            float originalVal = val;
+                            val = lerp(originalVal, otherVoxelVal, f);                            
+                        } else if (boundaryAxes == 2) {
+                            // Bilinear interpolation across two boundaries
+                            vec3 offA = vec3(0.0);
+                            vec3 offB = vec3(0.0);
+                            vec2 f = vec2(0.0);
+
+                            // Determine which two axes we're interpolating across
+                            if (clamped.x && clamped.y) {
+                                offA.x = clampedMin.x ? -1.0 : 1.0;
+                                offB.y = clampedMin.y ? -1.0 : 1.0;
+                                f = vec2(abs(diff.x), abs(diff.y));
+                            } else if (clamped.x && clamped.z) {
+                                offA.x = clampedMin.x ? -1.0 : 1.0;
+                                offB.z = clampedMin.z ? -1.0 : 1.0;
+                                f = vec2(abs(diff.x), abs(diff.z));
+                            } else if (clamped.y && clamped.z) {
+                                offA.y = clampedMin.y ? -1.0 : 1.0;
+                                offB.z = clampedMin.z ? -1.0 : 1.0;
+                                f = vec2(abs(diff.y), abs(diff.z));
+                            }
+
+                            // Macro for sampling at offset positions
+                            #define SAMPLE_AT_OFFSET(OFF, DEST)                                         \
+                            {                                                                           \
+                                vec3 otherGlobalVoxelPos = c_voxel_current[c] + (OFF);                  \
+                                vec3 otherP              = getNormalizedFromVoxel(                      \
+                                                             otherGlobalVoxelPos, c_res_current[c]);    \
+                                                                                                        \
+                                if ( any(lessThan(otherP, vec3(0.0)))                                   \
+                                  || any(greaterThanEqual(otherP, vec3(1.0))) ) {                       \
+                                    DEST = val;                                                         \
+                                } else {                                                                \
+                                    vec3 otherPTcoord      = getBrickFromNormalized(                    \
+                                                                otherP, c_res_current[c]);             \
+                                    vec3 otherVoxelInBrick = mod(otherGlobalVoxelPos, 32.0) - diff;     \
+                                                                                                        \
+                                    bool matched = false;                                               \
+                                    if (otherPTcoord == c_PT_X_adjacent[c].xyz && c_brick_X_adjacent[c].w >= 0.0)   {                         \
+                                        DEST = sampleBrick(c_brick_X_adjacent[c].xyz, otherVoxelInBrick);   \
+                                        matched = true;                                                 \
+                                    } else if (otherPTcoord == c_PT_Y_adjacent[c].xyz && c_brick_Y_adjacent[c].w >= 0.0) {                    \
+                                        DEST = sampleBrick(c_brick_Y_adjacent[c].xyz, otherVoxelInBrick);   \
+                                        matched = true;                                                 \
+                                    } else if (otherPTcoord == c_PT_Z_adjacent[c].xyz && c_brick_Z_adjacent[c].w >= 0.0) {                    \
+                                        DEST = sampleBrick(c_brick_Z_adjacent[c].xyz, otherVoxelInBrick);   \
+                                        matched = true;                                                 \
+                                    } else if (otherPTcoord == c_PT_XYZ_adjacent[c].xyz && c_brick_XYZ_adjacent[c].w >= 0.0) {                  \
+                                        DEST = sampleBrick(c_brick_XYZ_adjacent[c].xyz, otherVoxelInBrick); \
+                                        matched = true;                                                 \
+                                    }             \
+                                    ivec4 info = ivec4(-1); \
+                                    if (otherPTcoord == c_PT_X_adjacent[c].xyz) { info = ivec4(c_brick_X_adjacent[c]); } \
+                                    else if (otherPTcoord == c_PT_Y_adjacent[c].xyz) { info = ivec4(c_brick_Y_adjacent[c]); } \
+                                    else if (otherPTcoord == c_PT_Z_adjacent[c].xyz) { info = ivec4(c_brick_Z_adjacent[c]); } \
+                                    else if (otherPTcoord == c_PT_XYZ_adjacent[c].xyz) { info = ivec4(c_brick_XYZ_adjacent[c]); } \
+                                    else { info = getBrickLocation(otherP, c_res_current[c], slot, rnd, false, c); } \
+                                    \
+                                    if (!matched) {                                                     \
+                                        if (info.w == -1 || info.w == -2) {                            \
+                                            DEST = val;                                                 \
+                                        } else if (info.w == -3) {                                      \
+                                            DEST = 1.0;                                                 \
+                                        } else if (info.w == -4) {                                      \
+                                            DEST = float(info.x);                                       \
+                                        } else {                                                        \
+                                            DEST = sampleBrick(vec3(info.xyz), otherVoxelInBrick);      \
+                                        }                                                               \
+                                        if (abs((OFF).x) > 0.5 && abs((OFF).y) < 0.5 && abs((OFF).z) < 0.5) {             \
+                                            c_PT_X_adjacent[c]  = otherPTcoord;                                     \
+                                            c_brick_X_adjacent[c] = vec4(info);                                 \
+                                        } else if (abs((OFF).y) > 0.5 && abs((OFF).x) < 0.5 && abs((OFF).z) < 0.5) {      \
+                                            c_PT_Y_adjacent[c]  = otherPTcoord;                                     \
+                                            c_brick_Y_adjacent[c] = vec4(info);                                 \
+                                        } else if (abs((OFF).z) > 0.5 && abs((OFF).x) < 0.5 && abs((OFF).y) < 0.5) {      \
+                                            c_PT_Z_adjacent[c]  = otherPTcoord;                                     \
+                                            c_brick_Z_adjacent[c] = vec4(info);                                 \
+                                        } else {                                                                  \
+                                            c_PT_XYZ_adjacent[c]     = otherPTcoord;                        \
+                                            c_brick_XYZ_adjacent[c]  = vec4(info);                      \
+                                        }                                                                       \
+                                    }                                                                   \
+                                }                                                                       \
+                            }
+                            
+                            // Sample the four corners for bilinear interpolation
+                            float v00 = val;
+                            float v10; float v01; float v11;
+                            SAMPLE_AT_OFFSET(offA, v10);
+                            SAMPLE_AT_OFFSET(offB, v01);
+                            SAMPLE_AT_OFFSET(offA + offB, v11);
+
+                            val = bilerp(v00, v10, v01, v11, f);
+
+                            #undef SAMPLE_AT_OFFSET
+
+                        } else if (boundaryAxes == 3) {
+                            // Trilinear interpolation across all three boundaries
+                            
+                            vec3 offA = vec3(0.0);
+                            vec3 offB = vec3(0.0);
+                            vec3 offC = vec3(0.0);
+                            vec3 f = vec3(0.0);
+
+                            offA.x = clampedMin.x ? -1.0 : 1.0;
+                            offB.y = clampedMin.y ? -1.0 : 1.0;
+                            offC.z = clampedMin.z ? -1.0 : 1.0;
+
+                            f = vec3(abs(diff.x), abs(diff.y), abs(diff.z));
+
+                            // Macro for sampling at offset positions
+                            #define SAMPLE_AT_OFFSET(OFF, DEST) \
+                                { \
+                                    vec3 otherGlobalVoxelPos = c_voxel_current[c] + (OFF); \
+                                    vec3 otherP = getNormalizedFromVoxel(otherGlobalVoxelPos, c_res_current[c]); \
+                                    if (any(lessThan(otherP, vec3(0.0))) || any(greaterThanEqual(otherP, vec3(1.0)))) { \
+                                        DEST = val; \
+                                    } else { \
+                                        vec3 otherPTcoord      = getBrickFromNormalized(otherP, c_res_current[c]);             \
+                                        vec3 otherVoxelInBrick = mod(otherGlobalVoxelPos, 32.0) - diff;     \
+                                        if (otherPTcoord == c_PT_X_adjacent[c] && c_brick_X_adjacent[c].w >= 0.0)   {                         \
+                                            DEST = sampleBrick(c_brick_X_adjacent[c].xyz, otherVoxelInBrick);   \
+                                        } else if (otherPTcoord == c_PT_Y_adjacent[c].xyz && c_brick_Y_adjacent[c].w >= 0.0) {                    \
+                                            DEST = sampleBrick(c_brick_Y_adjacent[c].xyz, otherVoxelInBrick);   \
+                                        } else if (otherPTcoord == c_PT_Z_adjacent[c].xyz && c_brick_Z_adjacent[c].w >= 0.0) {                    \
+                                            DEST = sampleBrick(c_brick_Z_adjacent[c].xyz, otherVoxelInBrick);   \
+                                        } else if (otherPTcoord == c_PT_XYZ_adjacent[c].xyz && c_brick_XYZ_adjacent[c].w >= 0.0) {                  \
+                                            DEST = sampleBrick(c_brick_XYZ_adjacent[c].xyz, otherVoxelInBrick); \
+                                        } else {                                                               \
+                                            ivec4 otherBrickCacheInfo = getBrickLocation(otherP, c_res_current[c], slot, rnd, false, c); \
+                                            vec3 otherVoxelInBrick = mod(otherGlobalVoxelPos, 32.0) - diff; \
+                                            if (otherBrickCacheInfo.w == -1 || otherBrickCacheInfo.w == -2) { \
+                                                DEST = val; \
+                                            } else if (otherBrickCacheInfo.w == -3) { \
+                                                DEST = 1.0; \
+                                            } else if (otherBrickCacheInfo.w == -4) { \
+                                                DEST = float(otherBrickCacheInfo.x); \
+                                            } else { \
+                                                DEST = sampleBrick(vec3(otherBrickCacheInfo.xyz), otherVoxelInBrick); \
+                                            } \
+                                        } \
+                                    } \
+                                }
+                            
+                            // Sample all eight corners for trilinear interpolation
+                            float v000 = val;
+                            float v100; float v010; float v001; float v110; float v101; float v011; float v111;
+                            SAMPLE_AT_OFFSET(offA, v100);
+                            SAMPLE_AT_OFFSET(offB, v010);
+                            SAMPLE_AT_OFFSET(offC, v001);
+                            SAMPLE_AT_OFFSET(offA + offB, v110);
+                            SAMPLE_AT_OFFSET(offA + offC, v101);
+                            SAMPLE_AT_OFFSET(offB + offC, v011);
+                            SAMPLE_AT_OFFSET(offA + offB + offC, v111);
+
+                            val = trilerp(v000, v100, v010, v001, v110, v101, v011, v111, f);
+
+                            #undef SAMPLE_AT_OFFSET
+                            
+                        }
+
+                    } else {
+                        // No boundary interpolation needed - clear adjacent brick cache.
+                        // no adjacent bricks -> reset the adjacent trackers
+                        c_PT_X_adjacent[c] = c_PT_Y_adjacent[c] = c_PT_Z_adjacent[c] = c_PT_XYZ_adjacent[c] = vec3(-1.0);
+                        c_brick_X_adjacent[c] = c_brick_Y_adjacent[c] = c_brick_Z_adjacent[c] = c_brick_XYZ_adjacent[c] = vec4(-1.0);
+                    }
+                }
+
+                // ========================================
+                // VALUE NORMALIZATION AND TRACKING
+                // ========================================
+                
+                // Normalize value to 0-1 range using channel-specific contrast limits.
+                // we normalize the (accumulated) value to the range of the color channel
+                c_val_current[c] = max(0.0, (val - getClim(c).x) / (getClim(c).y - getClim(c).x));
+
+                // Track min/max values for MIP/MinIP rendering.
+                // update the min and max values for the min/max projection
+                if (c_minVal[c] == -1.0) {
+                    c_minVal[c] = c_val_current[c];
+                } else {
+                    c_minVal[c] = min(c_minVal[c], c_val_current[c]);
+                }
+                c_maxVal[c] = max(c_maxVal[c], c_val_current[c]);
+
+            }
+
+            // ========================================
+            // BRICK REQUEST GENERATION
+            // ========================================
+            
+            // Request higher resolution bricks if we're using lower resolution than optimal.
+            // potentially overwrite brick request
+            if (!overWrittenRequest 
+                && c_res_current[c] != bestRes
+                && c_val_current[c] > 0.0
+                && c_renderMode_current[c] == 2
+                && int(floor(rnd * float(maxChannels))) == c) {
+                setBrickRequest(p, bestRes, slot, rnd);
+                overWrittenRequest = true;
+            }
+
+            // ========================================
+            // CHANNEL COMPOSITING
+            // ========================================
+            
+            // Accumulate this channel's contribution.
+            // sum up the values onto the slice values
+            total += c_val_current[c];
+            rgbCombo += c_val_current[c] * c_color[c];
+
+        }
+
+        // ========================================
+        // FRONT-TO-BACK COMPOSITING
+        // ========================================
+        
+        // Clamp total intensity and calculate alpha.
+        // add the calculated slice to the total color
+        total = clamp(total, 0.0, 1.0);
+        sliceAlpha = total * opacity * dt * 32.0;  // Scale by step size and brick size
+        sliceColor = rgbCombo;
+
+        // Front-to-back alpha blending
+        outColor.rgb += sliceAlpha * alphaMultiplicator * sliceColor;
+        outColor.a += sliceAlpha * alphaMultiplicator;
+        alphaMultiplicator *= (1.0 - sliceAlpha);
+
+        // Early termination for opaque regions (standard rendering only).
+        // check if we can exit early
+        if (outColor.a > 0.99 && u_renderstyle == 0) { break; }
+
+        // ========================================
+        // ADVANCE RAY POSITION
+        // ========================================
+        
+        // Move to next sample position
+        t += dt;
+        p += dp;
+        t_os += dt;
+    }
+
+    // ========================================
+    // RENDERING STYLE POST-PROCESSING
+    // ========================================
+    
+    if (u_renderstyle == 1) { 
+        // Minimum Intensity Projection (MinIP)
+        // Shows the minimum value encountered along each ray
+        outColor = vec4(0.0);
+        for (int c = 0; c < 7; c++) {
+            if (c_color[c] != vec3(0.0, 0.0, 0.0)) {
+                outColor.rgb += c_minVal[c] * c_color[c];
+                outColor.a += c_minVal[c];
+            }
+        }
+    } else if (u_renderstyle == 0) { 
+        // Maximum Intensity Projection (MIP)
+        // Shows the maximum value encountered along each ray
+        outColor = vec4(0.0);
+        for (int c = 0; c < 7; c++) {
+            if (c_color[c] != vec3(0.0, 0.0, 0.0)) {
+                outColor.rgb += c_maxVal[c] * c_color[c];
+            }
+        }
+        outColor.a = 1.0;
+    }
+
+    // ========================================
+    // FINAL OUTPUT
+    // ========================================
+    
+    // Convert from linear to sRGB color space and set all render targets
+    gColor = vec4(linear_to_srgb(outColor.r), 
+                  linear_to_srgb(outColor.g), 
+                  linear_to_srgb(outColor.b), 
+                  outColor.a);
+    
+}
+`;