PROCEEDINGS ARTICLE | May 5, 2004
Proc. SPIE. 5367, Medical Imaging 2004: Visualization, Image-Guided Procedures, and Display
KEYWORDS: Image processing algorithms and systems, Visualization, Surgery, Image segmentation, Image processing, Medical imaging, Data acquisition, Data processing, 3D vision, 3D image processing
The aim of the Medical Imaging Interaction Toolkit (MITK) is to facilitate the creation of clinically usable
image-based software. Clinically usable software for image-guided procedures and image analysis require a high
degree of interaction to verify and, if necessary, correct results from (semi-)automatic algorithms. MITK is
a class library basing on and extending the Insight Toolkit (ITK) and the Visualization Toolkit (VTK). ITK
provides leading-edge registration and segmentation algorithms and forms the algorithmic basis. VTK has
powerful visualization capabilities, but only low-level support for interaction (like picking methods, rotation,
movement and scaling of objects). MITK adds support for high level interactions with data like, for example, the
interactive construction and modification of data objects. This includes concepts for interactions with multiple
states as well as undo-capabilities. Furthermore, VTK is designed to create one kind of view on the data
(either one 2D visualization or a 3D visualization). MITK facilitates the realization of multiple, different views
on the same data (like multiple, multiplanar reconstructions and a 3D rendering). Hierarchically structured
combinations of any number and type of data objects (image, surface, vessels, etc.) are possible. MITK can
handle 3D+t data, which are required for several important medical applications, whereas VTK alone supports
only 2D and 3D data. The benefit of MITK is that it supplements those features to ITK and VTK that are
required for convenient to use, interactive and by that clinically usable image-based software, and that are
outside the scope of both. MITK will be made open-source (http://www.mitk.org).
