Release Notes (Brief) for SCIRun Version 1.24.0b
February 3, 2005

New Projects in Version 1.24.0b

• New BioImage PowerApp and tutorial. BioImage is a PowerApp for visualizing regular, three dimensional scalar volumes, such as MRI and CT datasets. BioImage supports input datasets in DICOM, Analyze, NRRD, VFF, PICT, VOL, and SCIRun (Field) formats. BioImage offers combined 2D and 3D visualization options. The 2D views are axis-aligned (axial, sagittal, coronal), and support setting the window/level, color-mapping, pan/zoom, and three display modes: slice, maximum intensity projection (MIP), and slab. The 3D visualization support includes direct volume rendering, a technique for seeing specific features of interest within a volume. Users can paint colored brush strokes over features of interest in the 2D views, and the corresponding volume features will be interactively updated and displayed in the 3D view.

  For more information on BioImage, please see -- the BioImages tutorial.

• High-performance Direct Volume Rendering. We have dramatically improved our volume rendering algorithms in SCIRun. With this release, we now offer support for interactive visualization of high-resolution volumes (up to 512 x 512 x 512), using the latest graphics card technology. Our volume rendering algorithms support normal-based shading, as well as depth cueing, and user-specified sampling rates (for controlling the level of accuracy and interactivity in the rendering). Our volume rendering algorithm also supports multi-dimensional transfer functions, which gives the user increased specificity when identifying features of interest (especially boundaries).
• New ViewSlicer 2D rendering module. This module supports the interactive rendering of slices from a 3D volume. As described above, axis-aligned planes can be interactively selected, windowed/leveled, color-mapped, and rendered. This module provides the 2D viewing window of the BioImage PowerApp.
• Added support for 64 bit linux builds. We have run preliminary tests of SCIRun on 64 bit Altix and Gentoo linux.

Documentation

• Platform specific installation guides
• Tutorial for BioImage PowerApp
• Tutorial for FusionViewer PowerApp

Network Editor Enhancements

• Added an experimental SCIRUN_NO_PORT_CACHING environment variable. This should allow SCIRun to work on larger data sets.
• Added Bundle support. Allows multiple data pipes to be combined into a single pipe. (Can help de-clutter canvas.)