Introduction to 3D Slicer
What is 3D Slicer
3D Slicer is an extensible, open source, multi-platform software application for the visualization of biomedical data, which has been conceived as a clinical research tool and as a programming platform for translational biomedical computing research. Visualization is to be understood in a broad sense, as the computer-based process of exploring, transforming and viewing data as sensory information (mainly images) to get further insight into the application domain.
Architecture of 3D Slicer
3D Slicer consists of a core application on top of which task oriented functionality is provided by means of modules, and altogether being packaged as the Slicer distribution under a liberal BSD- type open source software license. The requirements for the integration of modules into the distribution include a designated maintainer to serve as a point of contact, a non-restrictive Slicer-compliant license, adherence to the Slicer coding standards, availability of software tests and appropriate user-level documentation. Functionality can be further extended by means of extensions, which are plugins that can be installed on demand by the user inside the application.
Usage cases
3D Slicer is a complex software system, and its understanding must be approached differently depending on the particular purpose:
- Clinical and pre-clinical research: conception and testing of new image-based biomedical hypothesis and of new image guided therapyp rocedures. This is the arena of the clinical and biomedical researchers, and of support biomedical engineers.
- Translational biomedical computing research: prototyping, development and evaluation of data analysis tools for clinical research applications. This is the arena of the biomedical engineering researchers.
- Application development: evolutionary agile development and maintenance of an abstract software platform well suited to the the requirements of clinical and translational biomedical computing research. This is the arena of software engineers and computer scientists.
Each of such purposes require a cumulative level of knowledge, so that clinical research can be considered as an entry-level for end users (ie., clinical researchers), while the application developer is at the highest level of abstraction, dealing with the software engineering details of the platform. In between, biomedical computing researchers are involved with using the provided APIs to extend and enhance functionality by focusing on algorithmic development, avoiding the hassle of internal software aspects.
Considerations
There is no restriction on use, but Slicer is not approved for clinical use and intended for research. Permissions and compliance with applicable rules are the responsibility of the user. For details on the license see here
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