Slicer+PLUS: Collaborative, open-source software for ultrasound analysis

摘要 建议的Slicer+plus框架的目标用户是专注于 低成本的医疗点超声(PICUS)应用。Pocus应用程序的特点是利用 低成本、便携式U/S系统；掌握在新手操作员手中；具有新颖的数据采集、信号 处理和机器学习方法；使用不精确的跟踪器；以及在高度不受限制的护理点中 环境，例如：在事故现场进行病人分流，在全科医生办公室进行 在老龄化人口患者家中以及整个医院中进行脊柱侧弯检测和监测。 在这种情况下，许多人认为Pocus设备将成为未来的听诊器。 Slicer+Plus的基础是3D Slicer、Plus和MUSiiC的集成和扩展。我们是 这些库的开发者。我们和我们图书馆的用户正在提议Slicer+Plus，以便 切片器、PLUS和MUSiiC社区可以走到一起，团结一致地应对重要挑战 以及PICUS申请带来的机会。此应用程序包括30多封支持信。 3D Slicer是一个世界级的、可免费获得的医学图像分割开源平台， 注册和可视化。Plus是一个世界级的、开放源码库，用于与超声波通信 机器和跟踪器(用于使用磁、光和其他技术在3D中跟踪对象)。MUSiiC是 专注于先进的超声采集和分析方法的(以前封闭的源代码)库， 例如超声重建管道、弹性成像和光声成像。总而言之，这些工具包 在过去的一年里，平均每个月的下载量超过5100次。 我们工作的一个主要承租人是，Pocus应用程序不应该被视为简单地涉及使用 廉价、便携的U/S系统；Pocus必须被视为一种新的模式，才能充分发挥其作用 潜力。Pocus必须涉及创新的自动化数据分析方法和工作流，以指导 用户可以正确放置和操作超声探头，并解释返回的超声数据。在……里面 特别是，这些工作流程和分析的输出应该是定量测量，而不是b模式图像， 因为在护理地点并不容易获得解释这种图像的专业知识。为此， 拟议的工作远远超出了Slicer、Plus和MUSiiC的简单集成。多项创新是 提出了超声光谱学用于组织标记，动态纹理用于解剖定位等方法 超声波探头和自动跟踪超声探头。 为了评估我们在实现目标方面的进展，我们的团队包括目标用户：研究人员、医疗设备 致力于低成本PICUS应用的制造商和临床创新者。他们将验证我们的 通过将他们整合到他们的研究和翻译PICUS产品开发项目中来努力。

Abstract The target users of the proposed Slicer+PLUS framework are researchers and developers who are focusing on low-cost point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) applications. POCUS applications are characterized by utilizing low-cost, portable U/S systems; in the hands of novice operators; with novel data acquisition, signal processing, and machine learning methods; with imprecise trackers; and in highly unconstrained point-of-care environments, e.g.: at the scene of accidents for patient triage, in the offices of general practitioners for scoliosis detection and monitoring, in patients' homes for an aging population, as well as throughout hospitals. In these contexts, many are considering POCUS devices to be the stethoscopes of the future. The foundation of Slicer+PLUS is the integration and extension of 3D Slicer, PLUS, and MUSiiC. We are the developers of these libraries. We, and the users of our libraries, are proposing Slicer+PLUS so that the Slicer, PLUS, and MUSiiC communities can come together and cohesively address the important challenges and opportunities posed by POCUS applications. Over 30 letters of support are included with this application. 3D Slicer is a world-class, freely available open-source platform for medical image segmentation, registration, and visualization. PLUS is a world-class, open-source library for communicating with ultrasound machines and trackers (for following objects in 3D using magnetic, optical, and other technologies). MUSiiC is a (previously closed source) library that focuses on advanced ultrasound acquisition and analysis methods, such as ultrasound reconstruction pipelines, elastography, and photoacoustic imaging. Together, these toolkits have averaged over 5,100 downloads per month for the past year. A central tenant of our work is that POCUS applications should not be viewed as simply involving the use of inexpensive, portable U/S systems; POCUS must be viewed as a new modality for it to attain its full potential. POCUS must involve innovative, automated data analysis methods and workflows that can guide a user to properly place and manipulate an ultrasound probe and interpret the returned ultrasound data. In particular, the output of those workflows and analyses should be quantitative measures, not b-mode images, since the expertise to interpret such images will not be readily available at points-of-care. To that end, the proposed work goes well beyond simple integration of Slicer, PLUS, and MUSiiC. Multiple innovations are proposed such as Ultrasound Spectroscopy for tissue labeling, Dynamic Textures for anatomic localization of ultrasound probes, and self-tracking ultrasound probes. To assess our progress towards our goals, our team includes our target users: researchers, medical device manufacturers, and clinical innovators dedicated to low-cost POCUS applications. They will be validating our efforts by integrating them into their research and translational POCUS product development projects.