AutoContours

The "AutoContour" feature associates a particular intensity value with a contour color so that when the user changes to a different slice, the iso-intensity contour can be automatically drawn in the specified color. The intensity values used can be determined by automatic preprocessing operations or can be set by hand. The AutoContour window is activated by pressing "A" or by choosing the "Windows:AutoContour Window" menu. The AutoContour window looks like this:

The AutoContour window contains a Menu Bar, a scrollable list of AutoContours and a button. Each row of the scrollable list has a column for for the current slice intensity value ("Current"), a contour color that can be attached ("Contour") and a text name for the AutoContour that also shows the original intensity ("Label"). Clicking on the label causes iso-intensity contours to be drawn in the current slice. Clicking and dragging on the "Contour" column for a given row causes a menu to pop up which allows a contour color to be chosen to attach to that AutoContour, as seen in here:

When a contour color is attached, any time the main image slice is changed, the AutoContour will draw iso-intensity contours in the attached color. Clicking on the intensity column ("Current") allows the intensity to be set for the current slice and the new value will show up in bold to show that it has been set. When AutoContours are drawn at a slice between slices with set intensity values, an iso-intensity contour is created at an intensity that is interpolated between nearby set values. If the current slice is between a set slice and the end of the slices, the intensity used will be the value of the closest set slice.

Multiple AutoContours can be active (i.e. have contour colors attached) at the same time so that multiple iso-intensity contours can be drawn at different intensities when going to a new slice.

The button, "Set to current intensity" will become activated after an AutoContour has been selected (by clicking on it and having it draw it's current value). Then, if the user changes the contour intensity using the Contour Tool, pressing the "Set to current intensity" button changes the AutoContour's current intensity value to match the intensity that was most recently set using the Contour Tool.

The "File" menu in the AutoContour window allows the entire AutoContour file to be saved and loaded and the "AutoContour" menu allows new AutoContours to be added to the list, allows deletions and can also revert the AutoContour to the original intensity that was set when the AutoContour was created.