IMPROMPTU: a system for automatic 3D medical image-analysis.

The utility of three-dimensional (3D) medical imaging is hampered by difficulties in extracting anatomical regions and making measurements in 3D images. Presently, a user is generally forced to use time-consuming, subjective, manual methods, such as slice tracing and region painting, to define regions of interest. Automatic image-analysis methods can ameliorate the difficulties of manual methods. This paper describes a graphical user interface (GUI) system for constructing automatic image-analysis processes for 3D medical-imaging applications. The system, referred to as IMPROMPTU, provides a user-friendly environment for prototyping, testing and executing complex image-analysis processes. IMPROMPTU can stand alone or it can interact with an existing graphics-based 3D medical image-analysis package (VIDA), giving a strong environment for 3D image-analysis, consisting of tools for visualization, manual interaction, and automatic processing. IMPROMPTU links to a large library of 1D, 2D, and 3D image-processing functions, referred to as VIPLIB, but a user can easily link in custom-made functions. 3D applications of the system are given for left-ventricular chamber, myocardial, and upper-airway extractions.