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Fourth Annual USENIX Tcl/Tk Workshop, 1996
Hypertools in image and volume visualization
Pierre-Louis Bossart
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Abstract
This paper describes our experience in image and volume visualization
at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. After an introduction
on visualization issues, we present a new software approach to the
analysis and visualization of images and volumes. The efficiency of
the visualization process is improved by letting the user combine
small and reusable applications by the means of a machine-independent
interpreted language such as Tcl/Tk. These hypertools can
communicate with each other over a network, wihich has a direct impact
on the design of graphical interfaces. We first describe the
implementation of a flexible gray-scale image widget that can handle
large data sets, provides complete control of the color palette, and
allows for manual and semi-interactive segmentation. This
visulaization tool can be embedded in a data-flow image processing
environment to assess the quality of acquisition, preprocessing and
filtering of raw data. This approach combines the simplicity of
visual programming with the power of a high-level interpreted
language. We show how hypertools can be used in surface and volume
rendering and how they increase the interaction efficiency by
performing complex or tedious tasks automatically. One biomedical
application is presented.
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