Visualization within BioPSE is the process of interacting with the visual representation of bioelectric field data. This interaction enables analysis of the modeling and simulation processes of electroencephalography, electrocardiology, cardiac defibrillation, and other bioelectric field problems. Visualization is an essential component of virtually every bioelectric field problem and thus a central part of the proposed Center and BioPSE.

The goal of scientific visualization is to assist scientists, engineers, and practitioners in exploring measured or simulated data in order to gain insight into its structures and relationships. The form of exploration is visual (rather than, for example, statistical) and this has the capacity to present enormous amounts of data in variable and flexible ways, often under direct control of the user. Scientific visualization makes use of techniques from computer graphics, numerical mathematics and geometry, and the psychology of perception to present information using shapes, color, and motion. The impact of scientific visualization is growing with the capability of computers and is evident in all areas of science, medicine, and engineering.

A central aims of the CIBC visualization technology core are 1) to develop and implement advanced, efficient, high-performance algorithms and software for visualizing large, spatially distributed and/or time varying data sets, and 2) to bring this research and technology to biomedical scientists as part of integrated software systems.

In order to achieve its full potential as an effective scientific tool, visualization must be not just the natural end point of a biomedical computing workflow but a ubiquitous component of every step within that workflow. It must enable the user to see the data from raw images to finished simulations and then to visualize the errors and uncertainties that arise from the measurements and computations applied to those data.

To achieve these goals, the CIBC will draw not only on past experience but also the outstanding technical expertise in scientific visualization within the SCI Institute. The SCI Institute has made many advances in the research and computer science of visualization. The CIBC will convert those breakthroughs into working, easy-to-use, programs that will be part of an integrated system of biomedical software. Meeting the visualization needs of our collaborators will provide the focus and direction needed to ensure that the resulting software will enhance the biomedical research community.