Interactive graphic editor for analysis and enhancement of medical images.

We have developed an interactive graphic editor to define subregions within a volume of medical images arranged in serial sections. The editing methods include tracing and automatic growing of connected components defined by the gray level range. The editor performs a statistical analysis of the signal contained in each subvolume and is used in studies of magnetic resonance (MR) signal in medical images. The graphic editor is also used for creating 3D views from MR images based on the new volume-rendering algorithm. The editor transforms the volume of images by remapping their gray levels and by multiplanar cuts. The ability to suppress regions having the same signal intensity as the region of interest is important in generating an unobstructed view of the anatomical structures.