Introduction
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The Biomedical Imaging Resource at the Mayo Foundation has been involved since the early 1970's in the design and implementation of computer-based techniques for the display and analysis of multidimensional biomedical images.
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The algorithms and programs developed through this research have formed the basis for integrated, comprehensive software systems developed by the Biomedical Imaging Resource, useful in a variety of multimodality, multidimensional biomedical imaging and scientific visualization applications. These integrated suites of complementary tools for fully interactive display, manipulation, and measurement of multidimensional biomedical images have been used in applications involving many different imaging modalities, including CT, MRI, SPECT, PET, ultrasound and digital microscopy.
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- Over 15 years development
- Over 600 imaging functions
- Intuitive, interactive multi-window interface
- In widespread use world-wide
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Implementations of the algorithms in software run efficiently on standard UNIX workstations and high-performance PC's without the need for special-purpose hardware. The software systems, such as Analyze, developed within the Biomedical Imaging Resource are continually evolving to extend their range of capabilities and expand their scope of applications, driven by the research goals of an experienced biomedical imaging research and development team and strongly influenced by collaborative research projects and the software user community both within the Mayo Foundation and worldwide.
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With the advent of advanced biomedical imaging techniques which are most efficiently realized via an integration of algorithms, such as segmentation driven by direct visualization, the availability of standardized interface software through powerful windowing systems, and the need to expediently address an ever-expanding variety of specific biomedical imaging applications, the Analyze software system has continued to mature into the most comprehensive, robust and productive software package available for 3D biomedical image visualization and analysis. It has served as the embodiment of the integrated biomedical imaging algorithms and tools developed in the BIR for over 15 years. Its widespread use and impact on a multiplicity of applications have served to validate the 'toolbox' approach to biomedical imaging software integration, an architecture which provides an effective shell for rapid prototyping of customized imaging applications. The synergistic integration of comprehensive and generic tools for visualization, processing, and quantitative analysis of biomedical images in a highly operator-interactive, intuitive interface has allowed surgeons, physicians, and basic scientists to explore large multidimensional biomedical image volumes efficiently and productively.
The Analyze software system is entirely built upon a toolkit of optimized functions that are organized into a software development library called AVW. The AVW imaging library is a collection of over 600 functions that are accessible to software developers to build advanced image-based application solutions. Analyze is an integration of the full functionality represented in the AVW toolkit with an intuitive windows-based interface which makes it easy to learn and to use. The most important feature of Analyze is the paradigm in which it operates - a powerful software architecture that allows multiple volume images to be simultaneously accessed and processed by multiple programs in a multi-window interface. The user interface for Analyze is based on Tcl/Tk, which offers full compliance with interface standards across multivendor workstations and PCs.
The development of the Analyze and AVW imaging software systems by the BIR software development staff directly benefits from a combined total of over 100 years of programming experience in the BIR, approximately 75 years of which have been with Analyze. Thus, Analyze represents a mature feature-rich, tested and proven product with a long history and internationally recognized tradition of continuous innovative development and reliable support.
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