Chris Pudney writes:
> We would like to survey the visualization software used by the confocal
> microscope community.
> We would like to know:
>
> 1. What package you are using?
>
> 2. Is it a commercial package or in the public domain?
>
> 3. What platform you are running it on?
>
> 4. What volume rendering algorithms it uses (e.g. volume buffering,
>    iso-surfaces etc.)?
>
> 5. We are particularly interested in knowing if your software can perform
>    surface detection and if so what algorithm is being used (e.g. marching
>    cubes)?
 
1 and 2.  We're using VolVis (public domain, and which you mentioned in your
message) and Image Volumes (Minnesota Datametrics, Shoreview, MN, USA--phone:
(612) 482 7938).  I think that the current cost for the latter is around
US$6,000.
 
3.  We're running both on an SGI Crimson.
 
4.  Image Volumes is mainly a surface-rendering tool.  Volvis does
iso-surfacing.
 
5.  Image Volumes does surface detection by marching cubes.
 
I'm "a friend of" Minnesota Datametrics (...the owner is a co-worker, and they
developed an extention to Image Volumes for us for the purpose of counting
synapses on filled neurons) so I'll stop here rather than risk crossing the line
into advertisement.  If you've got any specific questions, though, I'd be happy
to answer them.
 
Martin Wessendorf