Design and validation of Segment - freely available software for cardiovascular image analysis

Segment can be used for image analysis in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography (CT), single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and positron emission tomography (PET). Some of its main features include loading of DICOM images from all major scanner vendors, simultaneous display of multiple image stacks and plane intersections, automated segmentation of the left ventricle, quantification of MRI flow, tools for manual and general object segmentation, quantitative regional wall motion analysis, myocardial viability analysis and image fusion tools. Here we present an overview of the validation results and validation procedures for the functionality of the software. We describe a technique to ensure continued accuracy and validity of the software by implementing and using a test script that tests the functionality of the software and validates the output. The software has been made freely available for research purposes in a source code format on the project home page http://segment.heiberg.se webcite.Segment is a well-validated comprehensive software package for cardiovascular image analysis. It is freely available for research purposes provided that relevant original research publications related to the software are cited.Applied medical research is becoming more and more dependent on imaging for evaluation of the therapeutic effects of new drugs or therapies. Thus, dedicated image analysis software is needed for quantitative medical imaging. Commercially available software often offers limited functionality and frequently lacks the validation that is required for clinical studies. On the other hand, open source software offers transparency and the ability to modify the source code is well-suited to academic research since it gives researchers the ability to see exactly how the algorithms are implemented. The current trend among research grant organisations is that the results of government-funded projects should be published in open access jou