2025.10.21 Weekly Meeting

Community Weekly meetings
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Tomorrow, we will be having our next weekly hangout at 10:00 AM ET until 11:00 AM ET. a

Anyone is welcome to join at this link: https://bit.ly/slicer-googlemeet-hosted-by-kitware

Agenda:

Please post to this thread to put a topic on the agenda! We will try to prioritize agenda items during the meeting.

Thanks
Sam and J-Christophe

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I’m currently trying to create a custom visualization based on surface models where I need my own mappers (for custom shaders). It looks to me that this route would require a custom implementation of MRMLModelNode, MRMLModelDisplayNode and MRMLModelDisplayableManager.

Due to the way MRMLModelDisplayableManager filters nodes, it is not possible to simply inherit from MRMLModelDisplayNode, as any derived class will be processed by MRMLModelDisplayableManager.

It would be great if we can find some time to discuss this. Maybe we can adjust the filtering of DMs so inherited classes can be handled by custom DMs?

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Related functions:

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Meeting Notes

Slicer 5.10

  • Target date for tagging the Slicer 5.10 release is first week of November .
  • This release will be the final version based on Qt 5, ahead of the transition to Qt 6.

LightBox Removal

  • Discussed PR-8776:
    ENH: Simplify Slice view removing LightBox feature.
  • @Thibault_Pelletier will assist with finalizing the PR.
  • This is part of a broader effort to streamline rendering by removing legacy LightBox support.

Extending MRMLDisplayNodes and MRMLDisplayableManagers

  • Use case discussed: Creating a custom 3D View in the side panel to show custom model visualizations using custom mappers (similar to the Resectogram idea from PW38 SlicerLiver project).

Key technical considerations:

  • Custom mappers require custom MRMLDisplayableManagers, which must be implemented in C++.
  • While extending vtkMRMLModelDisplayNode is tempting for surface models, inherited managers (like vtkMRMLModelDisplayableManager) will process all subclasses, which may not be desirable.
  • One solution is to derive from vtkMRMLDisplayNode directly for full control.
  • Interaction customization (e.g., changing 3D view controls) can be done via scripting:
    Example from documentation.
  • @Thibault_Pelletier referenced the KitwareMedical/SlicerLayerDisplayableManager module, now integrated in Slicer 5.9 nightlies, as a helpful reference for creating custom rendering pipelines in both C++ and Python.

Unity-based VR App for Dentistry

  • Alex Myers introduced his Unity-based VR application focused on dental workflows.
  • Utilizes Slicer’s TotalSegmentator extension to generate anatomical models for use in the app.

Discussion points:

  • Challenges arise due to the lack of direct access to scientific toolkits (e.g., PyDICOM, SciPy, ITK, VTK) when using Unity.

  • To make the project more relevant for the Slicer community:

    • A free-tier licensing option would be beneficial.
    • A bridge between Unity and Slicer would help streamline data transfer and reproducibility.