MITK IGT ReleaseNotes 2016.03

The MITK 2016.03 release comes together with a source code release of the modules and plugins for medical navigation / computer-assisted interventions (MITK-IGT, MITK-US, MITK-ToF). This includes many bug fixes and new features as listed below.

Highlights

OpenIGTLink (First tested release of our new OpenIGTLink module):

• UI support for sending and receiving:
  • Ultrasound data (plugin org.mitk.gui.qt.ultrasound)
  • Tracking data (plugin org.mitk.gui.qt.igttracking)
• UI for managing OpenIGTLink streams (plugin org.mitk.gui.qt.openigtlink)
• Three simple example views (plugin org.mitk.gui.qt.igtexamples) which are the basis for the new IGT Tutorial Step 5 - OpenIGTLink Tutorial:
  • OpenIGTLink Example: Receiving tracking data
  • OpenIGTLink Provider Example: Sending tracking data
  • Extended OpenIGTLink Example: Receive tracking and ultrasound data simultaneously
• New features include:
  • Ability to receive TRANSFORM and IMAGE messages
  • Ability to send any type of message
  • Ability to communicate with the PLUS Toolkit (Image and Tracking Messages)
  • Enabled receiving multiple messages at the same time
• Known issues:
  • Cannot receive TDATA messages in MITK (bug 19677)
  • Cannot send multiple message types at the same time (bug 19466)

New structure for tracking devices:

• Tracking devices can easily be added from external projects and integrated into the tracking toolbox via micro services
  • New classes derived from the abstract TrackingDeviceTypeInformation class hold all relevant information for using the devices
  • The micro service TrackingDeviceTypeCollection contains all registered tracking devices and can easily be accessed from internal and external MITK projects
• A second micro service (TrackingDeviceWidgetCollection) for configuration widgets enables the reusability of these widgets in different plugins
  • Widgets for configuring the tracking devices are derived from the abstract QmitkAbstractTrackingDeviceWidget and – if registered with the micro service – are automatically available in the tracking toolbox (via QmitkTrackingDeviceConfigurationWidget)
• Documentation and a manual on how to implement and integrate a new tracking device can be found here: http://docs.mitk.org/nightly/IGTHowToImplementATrackingDevice.html

New tool tip calibration view:

• The new view is included in the plugin org.mitk.gui.qt.igttracking
• Features:
  • define a tool tip by using a second reference sensor or by giving a tool tip transformation manually
  • persist the tool tip transformation in a MITK tool file
  • additional tool landmarks can be defined and used for CT registration, etc.

Minor changes

• Virtual tracker can now simulate noise (bug 2176)
• Order of navigation tools inside a tool storage is editable (bug 14434)
• New module IGTBase for general IGT classes (bug 18380)
• Fixed bugs in NavigationDataReaderCSV (bug 19259)
• Fixed crashes in the UI for the virtual tracker (bug 19413)
• Added new unit tests for OpenIGTLink (bug 18380)
• New filter for logging of ultrasound images (bug 17034)

Special thanks go to all external contributors who helped to improve the MITK navigation modules significantly!