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Visual Computing Forum


The Visual Computing Forum, or VCF, is a series of seminars organized by the visualization group with selected talks from the fields of visualization, image processing, computer graphics, and so on. The individual seminars are arranged approximately once a month, on Fridays from 11am to 12am, and they will be interleaved with the MedViz seminars. They will be held either at the Høyteknologisenteret or at the VilVite Science Center

If you wish to be informed about upcomming VCF events, please write an e-mail to "vcf.bergen@gmail.com", "Helwig.Hauser@UIB.no" or "Sergej.Stoppel@UIB.no".

vcf.bergene@google.com  Seminars calendar    VCF on Facebook   


     December 2011

Holidays finally!


The VCF goes on holyday as well: the next seminar will be on Friday 13th January and all the details will be announced soon on this page.
In the meantime the VCF staff wish you Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!


     09 December 2011

MedViz Seminar - Imaging and New Targets for Personalised Medicine in Endometrial Cancer


Webpage: http://medviz.uib.no/

Place: BBB, Auditorium 4

Time: Friday 09 Dec 2011, from 12.00am to 1.00pm

Title:Imaging and New Targets for Personalised Medicine in Endometrial Cancer

Speakers:
1. Helga B. Salvesen, Department of Gynaecology, Haukeland University Hospital
2. Ingfrid S. Haldorsen and Jenny A. Husby, Department of Radiology, Haukeland University Hospital

Check the seminar page for the detailed abstract.


     02 December 2011

Visual Steering to Support Decision Making in Visdom


Speaker: Eduard Gröller

Place: Konferanserom C (TM51:KONFC), VilVite Science Center, Thormøhlensgate 51

Time: Friday 02 Dec 2011, from 11.00am to 12.00am

Abstract:
Computer simulation has become an ubiquitous tool to investigate the nature of systems. When steering a simulation, users modify parameters to study their impact on the simulation outcome. The ability to test alternative options provides the basis for interactive decision making. Increasingly complex simulations are characterized by an intricate interplay of many heterogeneous input and output parameters. A steering concept that combines simulation and visualization within a single, comprehensive system is largely missing. This talk targets the basic components of a novel integrated steering system called Visdom to support the user in the decision making process. The proposed techniques enable users to examine alternative scenarios without the need for special simulation expertise. To accomplish this, we propose World Lines as a management strategy for multiple, related simulation runs. In a dedicated view, users create and navigate through many simulation runs. New decisions are included through the concept of branching. To account for uncertain knowledge about the input parameters, we provide the ability to cover full parameter distributions. Via multiple cursors, users navigate a system of multiple linked views through time and alternative scenarios. In this way, the system supports comparative visual analysis of many simulation runs. Since the steering process generates a huge amount of information, we employ the machine to support the user in the search for explanations inside the computed data. Visdom is built on top of a data-flow network to provide a high level of modularity. A decoupled meta-flow is in charge of transmitting parameter changes from World Lines to the affected dataflow nodes. To direct the user attention to the most relevant parts, we provide dynamic visualization inside the flow diagram. The usefulness of the presented approach is substantiated through case studies in the field of flood management. The Visdom application enables the design of a breach closure by dropping sandbags in a virtual environment.

Additional material: Flyer, Eduard Gröller webpage, The Visdom project


     25 November 2011

MedViz Seminar - Drug-delivery by Microbubbles


Webpage: http://medviz.uib.no/

Place: BBB, auditorium 2

Time: Friday 25 Nov 2011, from 12.00am to 1.00pm

Title: Drug-delivery by Microbubbles
1. The physics and mechanics of sonoporation
2. Biological applications of sonoporation
3. How to obtain local drug delivery to the pancreas
4. MedIm - Norwegian Research School in Medical Imaging - a short presentasjon

Speakers:
1. Researcher Spiros Kotopoulis (1)
2. Researcher Antony Delalande (2)
3. Associate professor, Georg Dimcevski, UiB (3 and 4)

Abstract:
Ultrasound is very well known for its use in clinical diagnostics and non-destructive testing. For past few years its use for therapeutics has been explored. Existing approved uses include physiotherapy, surgery using high-intensity focus ultrasound and facial rejuvenation.
Our work demonstrated the manufacture of ultra-high resolution transducers capable of thermal ablation with millimetre accuracy. Such methods could be used to treat areas where invasive surgery is not possible.
During high-intensity ultrasound, gas cavities may form (acoustic cavitation), disrupting the ultrasound propagation. This can affect the efficiency of for high-intensity focused ultrasound surgery. We designed and built a tool to investigate and control cavitation to help enhance the effect of ultrasound or therapy.
In clinical-diagnostic imaging, gas microspheres (microbubbles) are used to increase the blood acoustic backscatter. These microbubbles are also acoustically active, allowing for complex acoustic interactions. We took advantage of this and showed that it is possible to precisely control and manipulate thousands of microbubbles using ultrasound in the clinical diagnostic range. Recent research has also shown that microbubbles in the presence of ultrasound have the ability to enhance cellular drug or gene uptake. This is known as sonoporation. We investigated this phenomenon using HeLa cells and saw that there was a specific threshold where this uptake was most efficient. Using these ideal settings we showed gene transfection in to mice tendons that lasted for over 100 ays. This is also resulted in restoration of the collagen fibers.
We investigated the physical mechanism behind this increased uptake and saw that it was possible to direct a fluorescence-coated microbubble directly into cells where it subsequently dissolved.


     04 November 2011

CMR Computing - Visual computing and applications


Speaker: Ola Kristoffer Øye, Yngve Heggelund (PhD, Senior scientists, CMR Computing)

Place: Konferanserom C (TM51:KONFC), VilVite Science Center, Thormøhlensgate 51

Time: Friday 04 Nov 2011, from 11.00am to 12.00am

Abstract:
ANALYSIS AND VISUALIZATION OF MARINE ACOUSTICS DATA FOR ABUNDANCE ESTIMATION OF MARINE RESOURCES - Marine acoustics is one of the primary data types used by marine scientist for abundance estimation of marine resources. Large amounts of multi-frequency echosounder and sonar data is regularly collected by research vessels, and analyzing and extracting quantitative measures from these data is crucial for good estimates of fish stocks, which again leads to catch quotas for the fisheries industry. The Institute of Marine Research (IMR) and CMR have for several years developed analysis and visualization techniques for analyzing marine acoustics data. The techniques and work flows has been implemented in the application "LSSS - Large Scale Survey System", which today is in use at IMR and several other marine research institutions around the world. The talk will present some of the techniques, workflows and features that has been developed.
INTERACTIVE COMPUTATION AND VISUALIZATION OF WIND FARM FLOW FIELDS BASED ON MODEL REDUCTION - Wind turbines in wind farms generate wakes, which reduces the power production of turbines downstream of other turbines. CFD (Computation Fluid Dynamics) is the best candidate for describing complex wake effects, but the application of such models is computationally very expensive which limits their practical use. This presentation will outline a method of reduced order modeling based on CFD. This provides a much faster computation of the flow field, which enables the user to make changes of the positioning of turbines within a wind farm and interactively observe the effects. While a CFD simulation takes hours to complete, the flow field can be computed within seconds in the reduced order space.

Additional material: Flyer, CMR Computing webpage, Slides CMRComputing, Slides Wind Farms


     14 October 2011

MedViz Seminar - Bergen Stroke senter


Webpage: http://medviz.uib.no/

Topic: Bergen Stroke senter

Place: BBB, konferanserommet

Time: Friday 14 Oct 2011, from 12.00am to 1.00pm


     30 Semptember 2011

Assessing brain connectivity using RS-fMRI and graph theory in the context of open discovery science


Speaker: Professor Arvid Lundervold, MD, PhD

Place: Store Auditorium, 2nd floor, Høyteknologisenteret (data blokk), Thormøhlensgate 55

Time: Friday 30 Sep 2011, from 11.00am to 12.00am

Abstract: The observation that spontaneous BOLD fMRI activity is not random noise, but is organized in the resting human brain as functionally relevant resting state networks (RSNs), has generated a new avenue in neuroimaging and cognitive research - where brain connectivity and graph theory are increasingly important concepts for understanding and for computation. One important application area of this technology is the assessment of healthy aging, mild cognitive impairment, and Alzheimer's disease. In this talk I will present ongoing research on brain connectivity and graph analysis methodology applied to the aging brain of healthy elderly people in the Bergen area as part of a larger longitudinal study of cognitive aging, where multimodal MRI examinations, neuropsychological testing and genome wide association (GWAS) data are included. In the functional brain imaging part, two quite different time scales are coming into play: epochs of ~10 min resting state fMRI recordings sampled at 0.5 Hz; and long-term changes in such recordings over a period of ~3 years. The talk will be put in the context of the recent paper by B. Biswal et al. "Toward discovery science of human brain function", PNAS 2010;107(10): 4734-4739, and the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters' Centre for Advanced Study (CAS) 2011-2012 project "Cogniton in aging - contributions of cognitive neuroscience and cognitive neurogenetics", headed by Prof. Ivar Reinvang, UiO

Additional material: Flyer, Prof. Lundervold webpage,


     16 Semptember 2011

MedViz Seminar


Official page: MedViz seminar webpage

Speakers:
1. Introduction, Arvid Lundervold, Professor UiB
2. MIC organization / core facilities, Geir Olav Løken, Senior Executive Officer, UiB
3. Services - imaging equipment, data storage & retrieva, Hege Avsnes Dale, Chief Engineer, UiB
4. Image analysis - report from an application in progress, Erlend Hodneland, Researcher, UiB

Place: Aud 4, BBB

Time: Friday 16 Sep 2011, from 12.00am to 1.00pm

Abstract: A core facility, such as MIC, is a compilation of equipment and highly qualified staff under a common organizational umbrella. Its mission is dual. Firstly it carries out R&D on the basis of its equipment in order to forward its range and quality to users and ensure that these are in the frontline of its field. Secondly, available and newly developed methods are implemented as service to be offered for the benefit of the wider research environment at a low price and without any demand for collaboration. The Molecular Imaging Center offers a wide range of services, ranging from access to instrumentation and equipment via courses and training to full service combining sample preparation with image acquisition and analysis carried out by our highly competent staff. MIC is equipped for imaging at the nanometer- to the micrometer and sub-millimeter levels. This enables us to facilitate research ranging from the molecule level, via cell organelles and cells to whole animals. MIC is thus a true translational core facility. In addition to offering sample preparation / animal handling at all levels we specifically have equipment for electron-, fluorescence- and confocal microscopy (including 2-photon), high throughput imaging, magnetic resonance imaging, optical imaging, and flow cytometry. MIC is co-localized with an animal stable and has highly qualified technical and scientific personnel operating and maintaining all instruments. One of the many ongoing project at MIC is related to modeling melanoma brain metastasis, aiming at more targeted treatment of cancer. In this project the 7 T small animal scanner at MIC is used to image metastatic lesions in the mouse brain, where development of task specific segmentation algorithms is necessary to make large scale quantification across several animals and experimental conditions feasible. This automated image analyses approach, using the MATLAB computing environment, will be presented and discussed.


     2 Semptember 2011

Passing Through the Trough of Disillusionment of Illustrative Visualization


Speaker: Professor Ivan Viola

Place: Room 3137, Høyteknologisenteret (data blokk), Thormøhlensgate 55

Time: Friday 2 Sep 2011, from 11.00am to 12.00am

Abstract: Efficient illustration craft is a vast source of inspiration for development of new visual abstractions in data visualization. Many new illustration-inspired techniques have emerged up to now, primarily arguing their validity with a statement like: "The illustrators have been using this technique for centuries and therefore we adapt their technique for interactive data display...". Argumentation of such kind was stimulating in the initial phase of illustrative visualization research, but nowadays this reasoning is no longer satisfactory. It is becoming apparent that ad-hoc adaptation can have arbitrary outcome. A systematic adaptation requires a vivid dialog with illustrators and a well-founded reasoning by means of the vision and cognitive sciences. This talk will assess the efficiency of selected visual abstractions, adapted for interactive visualization, in terms of their consistency with established perceptual principles.

Additional material: Flyer, Video, Slides



VCF seminars in 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011


 Last change: Helwig Hauser, 2009-09-22