Cornerstone3D, released in April 2022, is a new JavaScript library that enables visualization and manipulation of medical images on the web. Compared to the previous version of Cornerstone.js, Cornerstone3D is a major rewrite of the library that takes advantage of GPU acceleration to improve performance and reduce the memory footprint for the visualization of large medical images. In addition to the core library, Cornerstone3DTools provides a set of manipulation and annotation tools that can be used to create and edit measurements. In this blog post, we will take a deeper look inside some of the new features of Cornerstone3D and Cornerstone3DTools.
Cornerstone3D Allows Offscreen Rendering for Ultimate Performance
One of the biggest challenges with existing 3D web rendering technologies was the limitation of the number of WebGL contexts that could be created. This meant complex scenarios that required a lot of viewports were out of reach in the web browser. In Cornerstone3D, this problem has been addressed with the introduction of offscreen rendering. This rendering technique allows the Cornerstone3D library to share the same WebGL context across multiple viewports, which enables the ultimate performance of the library with minimum memory footprint. As an example, in the image below a complex PET-CT fusion layout is shown which involves 10 viewports. However, behind the scenes, only one WebGL context drives the 10 displays, with only two 3D volumes in the GPU. Each viewport is derived from the same context (using different camera angles, VOI settings, blendMode, etc.). As you can see, advanced image visualization techniques, such as Multi Planar Reformation (MPR) and Maximum Intensity Projection (MIP), are implemented and available out-of-the-box.
Cornerstone3DTools Enables Annotations, Including SVG Annotations
Cornerstone3DTools ships with a complete set of tools for creating and editing annotations. These tools are available as a separate module that can be added to any Cornerstone3D-based application. Another great new feature of Cornerstone3DTools is the ability to render annotations as SVG elements. This ensures crisp and accurate rendering of the annotations on any screen size. In addition, Cornerstone3DTools enables drawing and manipulation of the annotation tools in 3D space, which was not possible in the previous version. Below, you can see the new annotation tools and how they are rendered in 3D space.
Cornerstone3DTools Provides 3D Segmentation Rendering and Editing Tools
Segmentation is a critical part of medical image analysis and Cornerstone3DTools provides an advanced set of tools for segmentation rendering and editing. All Segmentations are rendered in the 3D space and the user can interactively edit them with brush and scissor tools.
Common Questions Related to Cornerstone3D and Cornerstone3DTools
We also want to provide you with answers to a few common questions you might have regarding Cornerstone3D and Cornerstone3DTools below:
Q: Does Cornerstone3D support synchronization between multiple viewports?
A: Yes, there are two synchronizers: WindowLevel synchronizer and Camera synchronizer. Learn more here.
Q: Does Cornerstone3DTools allow you to manipulate images?
A: Yes, you can zoom in and out of an image, pan an image, scroll through an image in any orientation, and change the window level of an image. Learn more here.
Q: Does Cornerstone3D allow you to render color images?
A: Yes, and you can render them as a volume. Learn more here.
Q: Does Cornerstone3DTools allow you to measure distances between two points?
A: Yes, you can do so by using the Length tool. Learn more here.
Q: Does Cornerstone3DTools allow you to calculate statistics?
A: Yes, you can calculate mean and standard deviation of a region of interest using the Rectangle/Elliptical ROI Tool. Learn more here.
Q: Does Cornerstone3DTools allow you to create your own custom tools?
A: Yes! Learn more here.
How Radical Imaging Can Help
If you’re looking for help creating custom viewers, workflows, and tools using Cornerstone3D and Cornerstone3DTools, our team of medical imaging experts at Radical can help! In collaboration with colleagues at Massachusetts General Hospital Department of Radiology, Radical actively develops and maintains both OHIF and Cornerstone. We have employed our expertise to help dozens of clients with their OHIF/Cornerstone projects. Get in touch with us here to tell us more about your project and learn more about our capabilities.
Learn more about Cornerstone3D and Cornerstone3DTools in this blog post: Cornerstone3D and Cornerstone3DTools: 5 New Segmentation Tools
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