Modules:OpenIGTLinkIF

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Module Name

OpenIGTLink IF

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General Information

Module Type & Category

Type: Interactive

Category: Base

Authors, Collaborators & Contact

• Junichi Tokuda: SPL, Brigham and Women's Hospital
• Haiying Liu: SPL, Brigham and Women's Hospital
• Nobuhiko Hata: SPL, Brigham and Women's Hospital

Module Description

The OpenIGTLink Interface Module is a program module for network communication with external software / hardware using OpenIGTLink protocol. The module provides following features:

• Data import: The module can import position, linear transform and image data from OpenIGTLink-compliant software to the MRML scene.
• Data export: The module can export linear transform and image data from the MRML scene to external software.
• Multi-connection: The module can manage multiple OpenIGTLink connections at the same time.
• Locator visualization: The user can choose one of linear transforms in the MRML scene to visualize its position and orientation in the 3D space.
• Slice driving: The module can control volume re-slicing plane based on linear transform in the MRML scene.

Figure 1. The figure shows an example schematic diagram where multiple devices are communicating with 3D Slicer through the OpenIGTLink Interface. Each connector is assigned to one of the external devices for TCP/IP connection. The connectors serve as interfaces between the external devices and the MRML scene to convert an OpenIGTLink message to a MRML node or vice versa.

Usage

Example Applications and Use Cases

• MRI-compatible Robot System developed in BRP Project between BWH, Johns Hopkins University and Acoustic MedSystems Inc., "Enabling Technologies for MRI-Guided Prostate Interventions"
• Neurosurgical Robot Project by Nagoya Institute of Technology, Japan

Tutorial

• Note use cases for which this module is especially appropriate, and/or link to examples.
• Link to examples of the module's use
• Link to any existing tutorials

Quick Tour of Features and Use

• Connectors:
  • Connector panel is used to add, delete and edit connectors.
• Data I/O Configurations:
• Visualization / Slice Control:

Development

Dependencies

The OpenIGTLink IF module requires The OpenIGTLink Library. The library is downloaded and built in Slicer3-lib directory automatically when you run Slicer3/Script/getbuildtest.tcl.

Known bugs

Follow this link to the Slicer3 bug tracker.

Usability issues

Follow this link to the Slicer3 bug tracker. Please select the usability issue category when browsing or contributing.

Source code & documentation

Customize following links for your module.

Links to documentation generated by doxygen.

More Information

Acknowledgment

This work is supported by 1R01CA111288, 5U41RR019703, 5P01CA067165, 1R01CA124377, 5P41RR013218, 5U54EB005149, 5R01CA109246 from NIH. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH.

References

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