Our experience with developing medical skill and procedural trainers includes developing the underlying real-time technologies such as fast numerical solvers, haptic rendering algorithms, advanced rendering for 2D and virtual reality displays, collision processing and custom hardware interfacing. These technologies are embedded in our Interactive Medical Simulation Toolkit (iMSTK) which is a C++ based open-source toolkit that aids rapid prototyping of interactive multi-modal surgical simulations. iMSTK features a highly modular and easy to use framework with a comprehensive ecosystem of tools and algorithms required to develop end-to-end medical planners and trainers.

Besides access to the technologies that are exclusive to iMSTK, applications can benefit greatly from its interfacing with Kitware’s another open-source software tools such as VTK, 3D Slicer and Pulse. Such synergistic use of disparate software has broadened the range of medical applications that are possible and has already helped Kitware successfully build virtual trainers for laparoscopic camera navigation, kidney biopsy and osteotomy procedures.

Building on our role in the creation and maintenance of libraries such as the Insight Toolkit (ITK) and applications such as 3D Slicer, we lead and partner on basic research grants, small business grants, and development contracts for the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Defense. These encompass nearly every aspect of medical image segmentation, registration, quantification, and computer-aided diagnosis.

In addition to working on grants and contracts, we can extend ITK and 3D Slicer with new algorithms to speed the deployment of pre-clinical and clinical products, as well as to collaborate on research investigations.

We work on a variety of cross- and multi-platform applications from desktop, to server, to mobile, to cloud, to web. The focus of these applications includes distributed 2D and 3D ultrasound, augmented reality, manual and semi-automatic segmentation and registration, quality control workflows, and surgical robotics.

At their core, these applications are built on our technologies and expertise in image processing, segmentation, registration, and surgical guidance. We work directly with customers to design workflows, user experiences, and custom interfaces from the ground up. Our development, testing, and documentation practices are aligned with FDA requirements and HIPAA technical safeguards for software products.

DSA is a web-based platform for the aggregation, management, and dissemination of large collections of whole-slide histopathology images, along with associated clinical and genomic metadata.

HistomicsTK serves as both a web-based analytics platform and a standalone Python toolkit. It contains computer vision and machine learning algorithms for the quantitative analysis of whole-slide histopathology images and associated data.

Large-image supports the web-based visualization and annotation of large multi-resolution whole-slide histopathology images. It also includes a Python API for reading/writing these images in a tiled fashion.

Our projects and research aim to quantitatively explore how age, disease or treatment affect structures in the craniomaxillofacial (CMF) complex. This improved knowledge can help diagnose disease early, plan and measure treatment, and monitor the progression of certain conditions.

In particular, we are experts in morphometry analysis, a technique that can be used to quantitatively plan CMF surgery or measure remodeling in the bony structures of the skull. Our dental image analysis methods, for example, can quantify bone quality or tooth integrity.

We also develop CMF-specific surgical trainers to improve procedural knowledge and surgical proficiency without sacrificing patient safety.

Craniomaxillofacial and musculoskeletal 3D image analysis

Two-dimensional multiplanar assessment or panoramic reconstructions are the main ways to detect radiological signs of disease in dental or musculoskeletal scans. Though useful, two-dimensional analysis overlooks the there-dimensional nature of anatomy and can lead to misdiagnosis.  

Craniomaxillofacial and musculoskeletal morphometry analysis

Studying how the shape of anatomy changes overtime, with disease or with treatment can help characterizing disease and healthy aging as well as planning and measure treatment outcomes  

Oral and maxillofacial surgical simulation and training

Surgical simulation and virtual reality can improve procedural knowledge and surgical proficiency in Oral and Maxillofacial surgery training. Simulation-based training can increase familiarity with surgical instruments, procedures and knowledge without sacrificing patient safety.