Multi-Field Medical Visualisation
Theme: Medical Visualisation
People: Jorik Blaas, Stef Busking, Charl P. Botha, Frits H. Post
This NWO-funded project is in cooperation with the Biomedical Image Analysis group of the TU Eindhoven. Our DTI Research is currently also performed within this project.
Description
In multi-field data sets, multiple numerical data values are represented at each of a large 3D array of data points. The data can be multiple scalar, vector, or tensor quantities, or any combination of these. An increasing number of acquisition and post-processing techniques used in medical imaging result in such datasets. Examples are multi-modal data sets (resulting from fusion of data from multiple imaging modalities), displacement fields, or diffusion tensor fields. For visualization of such data, new techniques are urgently needed that go beyond common single scalar field techniques such as volume visualization or iso-surfacing.
In physical simulations in areas such as fluid dynamics or structural analysis, multi-field data sets have been common for some time. A large number of techniques for analysis and visualization of vector and tensor fields is available, which can serve as an inspiration for medical applications. However, the application context is very different (subject matter, type of visualization problem, data sources), and the professional background and interests of clinical users are also very different. Therefore, applicability will not be straightforward. Also, presentation of complex data sets and simulation results should meet strong requirements of effectiveness for medical research and clinical application.
In this research project we will investigate interactive visualization techniques for medical multi-field data, by integrating knowledge from several fields within data visualisation, image analysis, and medicine. The participating groups can provide an excellent environment for this research, with the required combination of knowledge and experience, and with good cooperation with medical specialists from several disciplines.
Publications
S. Busking, C. P. Botha, and F. H. Post, Dynamic Multi-View Exploration of Shape Spaces, Computer Graphics Forum, vol. 29, no. 3, pp. 973--982, 2010. Special Issue: Eurovis.
J. Blaas, C. P. Botha, E. Grundy, M. W. Jones, R. S. Laramee, and F. H. Post, Smooth graphs for visual exploration of higher order state transitions, IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics, vol. 15, pp. 969--976, 2009.
S. Busking, C. P. Botha, and F. H. Post, Direct visualization of deformation in volumes, Computer Graphics Forum, vol. 28, no. 3, pp. 799--806, 2009. Special Issue: Eurovis.
J. Blaas, C. P. Botha, and F. H. Post, Extensions of parallel coordinates for interactive exploration of large multi-timepoint data sets, IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics, vol. 14, pp. 1436--1451, Nov.--Dec. 2008.
J. Blaas, C. P. Botha, C. Majoie, A. Nederveen, F. M. Vos, and F. H. Post, Interactive visualization of fused fMRI and DTI for planning brain tumor resections, Proc. SPIE Medical Imaging 2007 (K. R. Cleary and M. I. Miga, eds.), vol. 6509, 2007.
J. Blaas, C. P. Botha, and F. H. Post, Interactive visualization of multi-field medical data using linked physical and feature-space views, Eurovis 2007, proceedings of the joint Eurographics / IEEE VGTC Symposium on Visualization (K. Museth, A. Ynnerman, and T. Möller, eds.), pp. 123--130, 2007.
J. Blaas, MFMV: Multi-Field Data Visualisation Techniques for Medical Applications, NWO SIREN (Scientific ICT Research Event Netherlands) 2005
Also see DTI and DTI/FastSelection.