Kevin Gary

The Image-Guided Surgery Toolkit IGSTK: An Open Source C++ Software Toolkit

This paper presents an overview of the image-guided surgery toolkit (IGSTK). IGSTK is an open source C++ software library that provides the basic components needed to develop image-guided surgery applications. It is intended for fast prototyping and development of image-guided surgery applications. The toolkit was developed through a collaboration between academic and industry partners. Because IGSTK was designed for safety-critical applications, the development team has adopted lightweight software processes that emphasizes safety and robustness while, at the same time, supporting geographically separated developers. A software process that is philosophically similar to agile software methods was adopted emphasizing iterative, incremental, and test-driven development principles. The guiding principle in the architecture design of IGSTK is patient safety. The IGSTK team implemented a component-based architecture and used state machine software design methodologies to improve the reliability and safety of the components. Every IGSTK component has a well-defined set of features that are governed by state machines. The state machine ensures that the component is always in a valid state and that all state transitions are valid and meaningful. Realizing that the continued success and viability of an open source toolkit depends on a strong user community, the IGSTK team is following several key strategies to build an active user community. These include maintaining a users and developers’ mailing list, providing documentation (application programming interface reference document and book), presenting demonstration applications, and delivering tutorial sessions at relevant scientific conferences.

Evaluation and comparison of production schedules

Abstract The understanding of what constitutes a “good” production schedule is central to the development and evaluation of automated scheduling systems and their implementation in real-world factories. In this paper, we provide a definition of a schedule and discuss potential uses for a schedule within the organization. We then describe a number of different considerations that must be taken into account when assessing the quality of a schedule, and discuss their implications for the design and implementation of scheduling systems.

IGSTK: an open source software toolkit for image-guided surgery

Image-guided surgery applies leading-edge technology and clinical practices to provide better quality of life to patients who can benefit from minimally invasive procedures. Reliable software is a critical component of image-guided surgical applications, yet costly expertise and technology infrastructure barriers hamper current research and commercialization efforts in this area. IGSTK applies the open source development and delivery model to this problem. Agile and component-based software engineering principles reduce the costs and risks associated with adopting this new technology, resulting in a safe, inexpensive, robust, shareable, and reusable software infrastructure.

Agile methods for open source safety-critical software

The introduction of software technology in a life‐dependent environment requires the development team to execute a process that ensures a high level of software reliability and correctness. Despite their popularity, agile methods are generally assumed to be inappropriate as a process family in these environments due to their lack of emphasis on documentation, traceability, and other formal techniques. Agile methods, notably Scrum, favor empirical process control, or small constant adjustments in a tight feedback loop. This paper challenges the assumption that agile methods are inappropriate for safety‐critical software development. Agile methods are flexible enough to encourage the right amount of ceremony; therefore if safety‐critical systems require greater emphasis on activities, such as formal specification and requirements management, then an agile process will include these as necessary activities. Furthermore, agile methods focus more on continuous process management and code‐level quality than classic software engineering process models. We present our experiences on the image‐guided surgical toolkit (IGSTK) project as a backdrop. IGSTK is an open source software project employing agile practices since 2004. We started with the assumption that a lighter process is better, focused on evolving code, and only adding process elements as the need arose. IGSTK has been adopted by teaching hospitals and research labs, and used for clinical trials. Agile methods have matured since the academic community suggested almost a decade ago that they were not suitable for safety‐critical systems; we present our experiences as a case study for renewing the discussion. Copyright

Measuring the Quality of Manufacturing Schedules

The understanding of what constitutes a “good” production schedule is central to the development and evaluation of automated scheduling systems and their implementation in real-world factories. In this paper we describe a number of different aspects of this problem and show that it is in fact a very complex problem in its own right. After reviewing work in this area to date, we suggest a new approach which tries to reduce the complexity of the task. We illustrate our approach with an application to evaluating schedules for a semiconductor wafer fabrication facility.

IGSTK: Framework and example application using an open source toolkit for image-guided surgery applications

Open source software has tremendous potential for improving the productivity of research labs and enabling the development of new medical applications. The Image-Guided Surgery Toolkit (IGSTK) is an open source software toolkit based on ITK, VTK, and FLTK, and uses the cross-platform tools CMAKE and DART to support common operating systems such as Linux, Windows, and MacOS. IGSTK integrates the basic components needed in surgical guidance applications and provides a common platform for fast prototyping and development of robust image-guided applications. This paper gives an overview of the IGSTK framework and current status of development followed by an example needle biopsy application to demonstrate how to develop an image-guided application using this toolkit.

Designing a mobile application to support the indicated prevention and early intervention of childhood anxiety

This paper presents the design of an mHealth application for prevention and early intervention of childhood anxiety. The application is based on REACH, a preventative-early intervention protocol for childhood anxiety. This paper describes the multidisciplinary design process, sharing lessons learned in developing an effective mHealth application. This mHealth application is unique due to participant age, preventive-early intervention focus, and utilization of mobile technology in a situated manner. A design process inspired by user-centered leveraging key informant interviews was used to identify application features, including game based strategies and an animated motivational avatar. Validation was performed through external review and a usability study performed with target end users of the application. Results suggest overall satisfaction, ease of use, and increased motivation.

Automated process support for organizational and personal processes

We propose two views on process: an organizational view and a personal process view. Information technology applies Automated Workflow technology to define, execute, and track an organization’s automated business processes. Calendaring tools provide a form of personal process view through scheduled work items. However, the personal, or individual, view of the process space has largely been ignored. We maintain that as organizations become increasingly decentralized, a single organization’s process space is becoming difficult to recognize. Individuals of the organization are asked to do work that spans organizational, functional, and even geographic boundaries. An integrated view of organizational workflows and personal processes is needed to address these new demands. In this paper we argue for the need to integrate organizational and personal processes. We then propose a component-based process modeling approach and supporting process architecture that integrates these process spaces. Finally, we describe our recent efforts at developing Java prototype process tools that realize the proposed modeling technique and supporting architecture.

Component-based software process support

Only recently has the research community started to consider how to make software process models interoperable and reusable. The task is difficult Software processes are inherently creative and dynamic difficult to define and repeat at an enactable level of detail. Additionally, interoperability and reusability have not been considered important issues. Recent interoperability and reusability solutions advocate the development of standard process model representations based on common concepts or generic schemas, which are used as a basis for translating between heterogeneous process representations. The authors propose an alternative approach through the development of process-based components. They present the Open Process Components Framework, a component based framework for software process modeling. In this approach, process models are constructed as sets of components which interact in meaningful ways. Interoperability and reuse are obtained through encapsulation of process representations, an explicit representation of process state, and an extendable set of class relationships.

A project spine for software engineering curricular design

Software engineering education is a technologically challenging, rapidly evolving discipline. Like all STEM educators, software engineering educators are bombarded with a constant stream of new tools and techniques (MOOCs! Active learning! Inverted classrooms!) while under national pressure to produce outstanding STEM graduates. Software engineering educators are also pressured on the discipline side; a constant evolution of technology coupled with a still emerging engineering discipline. As a handson engineering discipline, where engineers not only design but also construct the technology, guidance on the adoption of project-centric curricula is needed. This paper focuses on vertical integration of project experiences in undergraduate software engineering degree programs or course sequences. The Software Enterprise, now in its 9th year, has grown from an upper-division course sequence to a vertical integration program feature. The Software Enterprise is presented as an implementation of a project spine curricular pattern, and a plan for maturing this model is given.