2DS:Tool Kit Panel

The Tool Kit menu item under the Properties menu button on the 2DS main window calls up the 2DS: Tool Kit panel which provides several different tools such as freehand, brush, rectangle ellipse, and fill-2D to help you segment structures from the image. The Tool Kit provides for the definition of regions and the operators within them and allows you to control the manner in which the operators are combined.

The Tool Kit window has three sections:

Paint modes

0bject

Paint Operator

Paint Modes Section

Auto Button
Left-clicking on the auto button will result in paint being applied immediately after the construction of the region. Inside/Outside Buttons
The Inside/Outside choice item lets you set whether the inside of the closed area defined by the region is to be painted or outside of the closed two dimensional figure drawn on the image will be painted.

Paint Priority Menu Button
To change the Paint Priority option:

1. Right-click on the Triangle nest to the words Paint Priority
2. Holding down the right mouse button, drag your cursor to the menu item you want
3. Release the right mouse button to select the menu item

Erase will erase the region and all operators under the region just drawn on the image.

Protect will establish a new region and its operator on those voxels under the just drawn region which currently have no operators associated with them.

Overwrite replaces any existing regions under the drawn region with the current operator.

Stack composes the current operator with the operators in any existing regions under the drawn region.

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Object Section

This section has a list item showing the currently available geometric objects that can be used to construct regions on images. The drawing can take place in any of the three slices: input,output, and process. Following are the list of objects available.

Ellipse Menu Option
To draw an ellipse:

1. Left-click on ellipse from the object menu
2. Define one axis by pressing the left mouse button and dragging the mouse on a slice
3. The axis will be visible via a "rubber-band" drawn on the image
4. Define the other axis by pressing the left mouse button and dragging the mouse on a slice again.

The ellipse will be updated continuously. When the mouse button is released, the final ellipse will be drawn, and the selected operator can be applied.

Rectangle Menu Option
To draw a rectangle:

1. Left-click on rectangle from the object menu
2. Define one corner by pressing the left mouse button
3. Continuing to hold down the left mouse button drag the mouse diagnally to define the other corner.

The rectangle is closed automatically when the mouse button is released.

Freehand Menu Option
To draw a closed freehand shape:

1. Left-click on freehand from the object menu
2. Pressing the left-mouse button, drag your cursor to define the shape as you want it
3. Release the left-mouse button when you are finshed

The freehand shape is closed automatically when the left mouse button is released.

Brush Menu Option
The Brush provides a way to draw a region with making it a closed area. The thickness of the brush is n by n pixels (n is the brush size you selected).

To draw using a brush:

1. Left-click on Brush from the object menu
2. Increase or decrease your brush size by left-clicking on the triangle arrow buttons to the right of the Object menu

2-D Fill Menu Option
Filling can be performed on the input volume voxel values or on the output volume voxel values. This allows one to prevent "bleed through" by creating a barrier in the output slice and then filling on the output, rather than on the input. All contiguous pixels meeting the comparison option are filled with the current paint operator.

To draw using 2-D Fill:

1. Left-click on 2-D Fill from the object menu
2. Left-click on the Input or Output button
3. Press the right mouse button on the Comparison triangle menu button
4. Holding down the right mouse button, drag the mouse down to select the option you want

   Less Than

   Less Than/Equal

   Greater Than

   Greater Than/ Equal

5. Release the right mouse button
6. Using the triangle arrow buttons next to the word Value, choose the value you want to do the 2-D fill on

3-D Fill Menu Option
Filling can be performed on the input volume voxel values or on the output volume voxel values. This allows one to prevent "bleed through" by creating a barrier in the output slice and then filling on the output, rather than on the input. All contiguous pixels meeting the comparison option are filled with the current paint operator. Three dimensional filling cannot be undone.

To draw using 3-D Fill:

1. Left-click on 3-D Fill from the object menu
2. Left-click on the Input or Output button
3. Press the right mouse button on the Comparison triangle menu button
4. Holding down the right mouse button, drag the mouse down to select the option you want

   Less Than

   Less Than/Equal

   Greater Than

   Greater Than/ Equal

5. Release the right mouse button
6. Using the triangle arrow buttons next to the word Value, choose the value you want to do the 3-D fill on

Polygon Menu Option
Polygons with an arbitrary number of vertices are constructed in a similar manner to other geometric objects. The starting point is selected and the mouse is dragged to the next vertex. Additional vertices are added by selecting, dragging, and releasing the left mouse button. The polygon is closed when the last vertex is placed close to the initial vertex.

To draw a polygon:

1. Left-click on Polygon from the object menu
2. Define one side of the polygon by left-clicking on the slice, dragging the mouse, then releasing the left-mouse button
3. Additional sides of the polygon can be drawn by left-clicking on the slice, dragging the mouse, then releasing the left-mouse button
4. The polygon is closed when the last vertex is placed close to the initial vertex

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Paint Operator

There are four kinds of paint operators available

Fixed Value

Multiplier

Adder

Threshold

Fixed Value
A voxel can be set to a fixed value, and this action can be further constrained by applying the operator only to those voxels between a lower and upper voxel value limit.

Multiplier
Voxels can be multiplied by a constant or have a constant value added to them, again constrained to apply only to those voxels within the range given by the upper and lower limits.

Adder
A set value can be added to the voxel value again constrained to apply only to those voxels within the range given by the upper and lower limits.

Threshold
The threshold operator is more complex but extremely powerful. The range of voxel values is divided into three parts: those above the upper bound, those below the lower bound and those between the bounds. Voxels in any of the these three ranges can independently and optionally be set to any value as determined by the entries in the Above, Between, and Below fields and whether the check box to the left of the field is activated.

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Copyright 1994-99 Division of Physiologic Imaging, Dept. of Radiology, Univ. of Iowa

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