I’m writing a note of thanks to the developers and community after having found 3D slicer earlier this year and learning how to use it to get a fuller understanding from my routine MRIs to track progress of my brain tumor growth since surgery to remove a growing glioma from my right temporal lobe.
From the tutorials and training sets and posts elsewhere in these community discussions, I learned how to load the studies and series of interest (in my case, focusing on T2 FLAIR series) and to segment based on voxel intensity to focus on T2 FLAIR hyperintensity in my region of interest. I used the segment statistics module to track trends in the number of hyperintense voxels and the calculated volume of the filled segment over time. As an added bonus, I can now see the three-dimensional changes over time, and used the same work to give me a better sense of the original tumor through a small animation.
While my surveillance scans and an attentive care team meant I already had a good idea of my favorable progress, I found the 3D visualization to be a huge help in getting a better feel for changes over time. Below, I include a representative trend graph below, with actual calculations and dates removed, along with a short video of the visualization of my pre-surgery tumor (as represented by the T2 FLAIR hyperintense signal) after using the slices to ‘clip back’ to show it in relation to the rest of my brain.
Doing this would not have been easy for me if it wasn’t for the solid documentation, tutorials, and support already shared in community posts.
Thank you to all who build and contribute to the 3D Slicer community!!!
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