Anatomist software enables objects visualization and handling for medical imaging. These objects are various representations of anatomical and functional information coming from images (T1 MRI, activation image issued from a parametrical statistical map, PET, hemispheres mesh, fibers bundles obtained from BrainVISA tracking process, sulci graph representation extracted from a T1 MRI image...).
Features and originality of Anatomist are based on :
Management of several types of objects : structured (sulci, ROI graphs...) or not (3D, 4D volumes, mesh ...)
Management of coordinate systems and transformations, for instance, you can load transformation matrix to change the object coordinate systems. For example, it is possible to merge a non normalized anatomical volume and a normalized activation map (functional data), and to have a coherent display if we load the transformation from the normalized image to the non normalized anatomical image or the reverse.
Possibility of building complex 3D scenes with several objects of any type (merging, superimposing...).
A lot of tools : color palettes, region of interest module, mathematic morphology, manual registration (transformation control) ...
Anatomist control window (main window) enables to have a general view of loaded objects and opened windows, to choose actions for combining objects (merging...), or controls to use on windows according to contained objects. Here's Anatomist control window :
General purpose is to load objects (volume, ROI graph, mesh...), change their referential (coordinate system) if needed, modify their characteristics, combining them (merging, superimposing...), and put them in windows in order to visualize them.
So, here are some base principles for using Anatomist :
Load objects that represent volumes, meshes ...
These objects are put in windows for visualization. At a more advanced level of use, it is possible to put several objects in the same windows, for example to superimpose a mesh and a volume.
It is also possible to handle objects characteristics as referential (coordinate system) or colors, for example by modifying a volume's palette.
A window offers different control modes according to the type of its contained objects. For example, if a window contains a ROI graph, the selectioncontrol will be available and will enable to select regions in the graph.
Here are some examples about typical actions in Anatomist, for example to look at a volume :