Kitware’s iMSTK 3.0 Release Features New Task Graph and More

Kitware Upgrades Medical Simulation Toolkit to Improve Workflow, Physics, and Graphical Rendering Capabilities


Clifton Park, New York, June 25, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Interactive Medical Simulation Toolkit (iMSTK) is a free, open source toolkit that offers product developers and researchers all the software components they need to build and test virtual simulators for medical training and planning. In this 3.0 release, major improvements were made to the computational workflow, physics, and graphical rendering capabilities of the toolkit.


iMSTK v3.0

Major improvements were made to the computational workflow, physics, and graphical rendering capabilities of iMSTK. Extensive refactoring and numerous bug fixes were also made across the codebase to allow extensibility of classes, improve clarity, separate roles for different iMSTK libraries, and enforce consistency of design and conventions across the toolkit.

“The goal of iMSTK has been to bring together wide-ranging algorithms from multiple disciplines required for a typical surgical simulation application, in an easy-to-use and scalable fashion. This particular release is a huge step in that direction,” said Sreekanth Arikatla, staff R&D engineer at Kitware who is responsible for leading the toolkit.

Release highlights include:

  • New task graph for a customizable physics pipeline and task-based parallelism.
  • Major upgrade to the rendering module, including physically-based rendering (Image 1), screen-space fluid rendering, better mesh visualization, and faster point cloud rendering.
  • 3D image support and volume rendering.
  • Improved models for particle-based dynamics.
  • Improved time-stepping policy, multiple scene management, and scene controls, with the addition of async simulation mode.
  • Improved geometric utility module with new geometric filters and tetrahedral mesh cover generation.

For a full description of the updates included in iMSTK 3.0, please visit our website. You can also learn more about our Medical Computing Team


Using iMSTK

iMSTK features libraries for comprehensive physics simulation, haptics, advanced rendering, and visualization, hardware interfacing, geometric processing, collision detection, contact modeling, and numerical solvers. iMSTK has been used to build trainers that help medical professionals prepare for biopsies, resectioning, radiosurgery, and laparoscopy without compromising patient safety in the operating room.

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About Kitware Inc.

Headquartered in Clifton Park, New York, Kitware Inc. has focused on advancing the frontiers of understanding by developing innovative open source software platforms and integrating them into research, processes, and products since its founding in 1998. With a wide range of capabilities, Kitware powers computer vision, data and analytics, scientific computing, medical computing, and software process implementation/management. Kitware provides expertise in these areas through customization services, support, collaborative research and development, training, and books. For additional information on Kitware, please visit kitware.com.

 

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Image 1: Example of physically-based rendering capability

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