EuroVis short paper ‘VarVis: Visualizing Anatomical Variation in Branching Structures’ accepted!

The thrice rejected, thrice cursed work on visualizing anatomical variations in branching structures has been accepted as a short paper at EuroVis 2016! This means I can finally show you a video of the work without jeopardizing the double-blind review process:

Abstract: Anatomical variations are naturally-occurring deviations from typical human anatomy. While these variations are considered normal and non-pathological, they are still of interest in clinical practice for medical specialists such as radiologists and transplantation surgeons. The complex variations in branching structures, for instance in arteries or nerves, are currently visualized side-by-side in illustrations or expressed using plain text in medical publications.
In this work, we present a novel way of visualizing anatomical variations in complex branching structures for educational purposes: VarVis. VarVis consists of several linked views that reveal global and local similarities and differences in the variations. We propose a novel graph representation to provide an overview of the topological changes. Our solution involves a topological similarity measure, which allows the user to select variations at a global level based on their degree of similarity. After a selection is made, local topological differences can be interactively explored using illustrations and topology graphs. We also incorporate additional information regarding the probability of the various cases. Our solution has several advantages over traditional approaches, which we demonstrate in an evaluation.

The other short paper that was accepted is now on the EuroGraphics 2016 conference program, so I guess it is all official now. With all these short papers going around, I somehow keep getting reminded of the Simpsons and a certain phrase more specifically:

We should to get the STAR notification tomorrow, so hope to come back with more good news 🙂

Weekly Status Update #17: Space Dress

Hmm, a weekly status update again, what to do, what to wear? I mean write of course. I have the feeling it was quite the uneventful week again but let’s see what we’ve got: coding conundrums, conference travel planning, sharing and caring, wardrobe acquisitions and the pleinbioscoop of Rotterdam. Now to the untrained eye, it looks like there is no relation between these items at all, but then, well, the untrained eye would be right. Bad writing time!

How scientific conferences are like music festivals

Fresh out of the nightly brainfart department, a short look at the similarities between scientific conferences and music festivals as well as some tips and tricks that apply to both:

  • The bigger conferences often feature parallel sessions not unlike how music festivals can have multiple stages and concerts at the same time.

    Tip:  Take a look at the schedule beforehand and choose the talks/concerts you really must see beforehand, so you don’t miss out on anything important during the event.

  • The keynote speakers are like the headliners at a festival: big names in the field who are allowed more time to present their work.

    Tip: Keynotes and headline shows got that spot for a reason, while there are exceptions, in general you can expect high quality content and good delivery, so be sure to attend.

  • Big conferences and festivals can span multiple action-packed days and therefore be really exhausting.

    Tip: Eat and drink well to maintain your energy levels and just hang in there. Big conferences/festivals only come around once a year and you might not get the chance to go every year, so make the most of your time there!