SCIENTIFIC VISUALIZATION

本子项目是利用由NIH/NCRR资助的中心赠款提供的资源的众多研究子项目之一。子项目和研究者（PI）可能已经从另一个NIH来源获得了主要资金，因此可以在其他CRISP条目中表示。列出的机构是中心的，不一定是研究者的机构。科学可视化关注的是帮助研究人员探索测量或模拟数据，以深入了解数据中的结构和关系。科学可视化的影响可以在科学、医学和工程的所有领域看到。中心目标是为生物医学科学家带来尖端的可视化研究和技术。可视化技术核心的目标是开发并实现先进、高效、高性能的算法和软件，用于可视化大型、空间分布和/或时间变化的数据集。为了充分发挥其作为有效科学工具的潜力，可视化不仅必须是生物医学计算管道的自然终点，而且必须是该管道中每一步的无处不在的组成部分：它必须使用户能够看到从原始图像到完成模拟的数据，然后将应用于这些数据的测量和计算产生的误差和不确定性可视化。为了实现这些目标，我们的目标是大大增加生物医学研究人员可用的可视化技术的广度和复杂性，首先通过利用科学计算和成像研究所现有的专业知识，然后通过开展针对时间相关图像数据，生物电场流场和其他离子传输行为，扩散加权MRI图像集，以及数据误差/不确定性，并通过将这些数据类型组合成直观、定量、交互式的显示。研究和开发的三个主要可视化目标是：(1)研究用于生物医学应用的新可视化技术；(2)基于科学计算和成像研究所和其他地方开发的最先进的可视化研究，开发用于生物医学可视化的可视化工具和软件；(3)利用第三方可视化软件来利用现有软件。这些目标既反映了中心研究人员现有的专业知识，也包括源于合作项目的实质性组成部分。中心与其合作者之间的这种密切研究联系将通过扩大反馈和智力贡献的来源来提高项目的质量，从而有助于最大限度地发挥其对该领域的影响。我们的研究将包括以下领域的新工作：图像数据的多维传递函数体积可视化，生物电场和其他离子传输行为的多场可视化，扩散加权MRI的可视化，以及为实验和计算数据集中的数据误差/不确定性创建新的可视化表示。除了我们的研究目标之外，我们的目标是为生物医学科学家开发一套强大的、交互式的、定量的、可用的和集成的可视化工具。这项研究的效用和影响不仅在于我们提出的开发和实施的具体技术，还在于这些技术将整合到BioPSE中的方式。其中一些技术将根据我们的合作者或特定研究或临床应用的特定需求进行调整，而许多其他技术，如多维体绘制，误差和不确定性可视化，以及多场可视化，也将适用于更广泛的应用。作为BioPSE基础设施的一部分，这些技术将立即提供给该软件的所有用户，用于一系列相关目的。下面我们对中心的可视化研究和发展目标进行了简要总结：(1)研究新的扩散张量可视化和分析技术。(2)在标量场、矢量场和张量场可视化中开发和强化最先进的科学计算和成像可视化研究原型，使其成为健壮的BioPSE组件。(3)提供技术，支持对生物电场数据的定量方面进行广泛和灵活的检查，如电压梯度和等时速度。(4)在BioPSE中集成我们的多维传递函数体绘制系统。(5)扩展map3d的功能，特别是在时间相关几何和多数据可视化领域，以满足合作者和其他用户的需求，特别是在生物电领域以外的应用领域。(6)根据提出的误差和不确定性研究的可视化表示，开发仿真结果比较的可视化方法。(7)扩展BioPSE可视化模块，以利用远程可视化实用程序。

This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. Scientific visualization is concerned with helping researchers explore measured or simulated data to gain insight into structures and relationships within the data. The impact of scientific visualization can be seen in all areas of science, medicine, and engineering. A central aim is to bring cutting edge visualization research and technology to biomedical scientists. The goals of the visualization technology core are to develop and then to implement advanced, efficient, high-performance algorithms and software for visualizing large, spatially distributed and/or time varying data sets. In order to achieve its full potential as an effective scientific tool, visualization must be not just the natural end point of the biomedical computing pipeline but a ubiquitous component of every step within that pipeline: it must enable to user to see the data from raw images to finished simulation and then to visualize the errors and uncertainties that arise from the measurements and computations applied to those data. In order to achieve these goals, we aim to greatly increase the breadth and sophistication of visualization technologies available for biomedical researchers, first by leveraging existing expertise within the Scientific Computing and Imaging Institute, then by carrying out new research directed at such areas as time-dependent image data, flow fields from bioelectric fields and other ion-transport behaviors, diffusion weighted MRI image sets, and data error/uncertainty and by combining such data types into intuitive, quantitative, interactive displays. Three primary visualization goals focus on both research and development: (1) to research new visualization techniques for biomedical applications, (2) to develop visualization tools and software for biomedical visualization based upon state- of-the-art visualization research developed within the Scientific Computing and Imaging Institute and elsewhere, and (3) to leverage third-party visualization software to take advantage of existing software. These aims both reflect the existing expertise of the center's investigators and include substantial components that have originated with the collaborative projects. Such close research ties between the center and its collaborators will improve the quality of the projects by broadening the sources of feedback and intellectual contributions and so help to maximize their impact on the field. Our research will include new work directed at such areas as multi-dimensional transfer function volume visualization of image data, multi-field visualization for bioelectric fields and other ion-transport behaviors, visualization of diffusion weighted MRI, and the creation of new visual representations for data error/uncertainty in experimental and computational data sets. In addition to our research goals, we aim to develop a set of powerful, interactive, quantitative, usable, and integrated visualization tools for biomedical scientists. The utility and impact of the research lie not only in the specific techniques we propose to develop and implement, but also in the way that these techniques will be integrated into BioPSE. Some of the techniques will be tuned to the specific needs of our collaborators or the particular research or clinical application, and many others, such as the multi-dimensional volume rendering, error and uncertainty visualization, and multi-field visualization, will also be appropriate for a broader range of applications. As part of the BioPSE infrastructure, these techniques will become immediately available to all users of the software for a range of related purposes. Below we give a brief summary of the center¿s visualization research and development goals: (1) Investigate new diffusion tensor visualization and analysis techniques. (2) Develop and harden state-of-the-art Scientific Computing and Imaging visualization research prototypes in scalar, vector, and tensor field visualization into robust BioPSE components. (3) Supply techniques that support extensive and flexible examination of the quantitative aspects of bioelectric field data, such as voltage gradients and isochrone velocities. (4) Integrate our multi-dimensional transfer function volume rendering system in BioPSE. (5) Expand the capabilities of map3d , especially in the areas of time-dependent geometry and multiple-data visualization to meet the needs of the collaborators and other users, especially those in application areas outside of bioelectric fields. (6) Develop visual methods for comparisons of simulation results based upon the proposed visual representation of error and uncertainty research. (7) Extend BioPSE visualization modules to take advantage of remote visualization utilities.