MRtrix: enabling advanced tractography and microstructure analysis of diffusion MRI in the brain
Lead Research Organisation:
King's College London
Department Name: Imaging & Biomedical Engineering
Abstract
MRtrix is an open-source software project to provide high-quality implementations of novel and important technical innovations in the field of diffusion MRI analysis. Diffusion MRI is increasingly used to identify and study brain white matter fibre tracts and to investigate brain connectivity. MRtrix is a valuable software tool used by researchers in medical image processing and visualisation, neuroscience and neurotechnology and is already in use in at least 60 medical centres worldwide, and several commercial products.
MRtrix has so far been maintained by a small team of dedicated academics. However, the success of the project and its widespread adoption now makes it impossible for the team to maintain and enhance the project to the expected standard due to time constraints. The long-term sustainability of the project will require the active participation of a wider range of developers and maintainers, and support from an active community of knowledgeable users.
The aims of this project are therefore four-fold:
- to implement important features that will enable use of the software in a greater range of situations, improve interoperation with other complementary software packages, and ensure MRtrix is ready for future applications.
- to encourage researchers and developers to use MRtrix as the basis for the development and/or dissemination of their own methods (by improving the code documentation, providing online courses and articles, and providing rapid and responsive support);
- to maintain the software, fix outstanding issues, and ease the various processes involved as much as possible.
- to maximise user engagement and participation (by running workshops, providing online tutorials, and improving the documentation);
This project will fund a Research Software Engineer for 3 years to achieve these objectives.
MRtrix has so far been maintained by a small team of dedicated academics. However, the success of the project and its widespread adoption now makes it impossible for the team to maintain and enhance the project to the expected standard due to time constraints. The long-term sustainability of the project will require the active participation of a wider range of developers and maintainers, and support from an active community of knowledgeable users.
The aims of this project are therefore four-fold:
- to implement important features that will enable use of the software in a greater range of situations, improve interoperation with other complementary software packages, and ensure MRtrix is ready for future applications.
- to encourage researchers and developers to use MRtrix as the basis for the development and/or dissemination of their own methods (by improving the code documentation, providing online courses and articles, and providing rapid and responsive support);
- to maintain the software, fix outstanding issues, and ease the various processes involved as much as possible.
- to maximise user engagement and participation (by running workshops, providing online tutorials, and improving the documentation);
This project will fund a Research Software Engineer for 3 years to achieve these objectives.
People |
ORCID iD |
| Jacques-Donald Tournier (Principal Investigator) |
| Title | MRtrix3 (updates) |
| Description | MRtrix3 provides a set of tools to perform various types of diffusion MRI analyses, from various forms of tractography through to next-generation group-level analyses. It is designed with consistency, performance, and stability in mind, and is freely available under an open-source license. It is developed and maintained by a team of experts in the field, fostering an active community of users from diverse backgrounds. |
| Type Of Technology | Software |
| Year Produced | 2024 |
| Open Source License? | Yes |
| Impact | Updates since start of project: - move to C++17 standard - use industry-standard CMake build system - update packaging infrastructure to ease distribution - implement nightly / weekly build system - add additional testing for coding style and checking against core guidelines - prepare releases 3.0.5 and 3.1.0 - initial work on streamlines handling backend and TRX community file format support Wider impact of MRtrix3 project: MRtrix is widely used in the field of diffusion MRI and tractography. It is used in over 60 clinical institutions worldwide for neurosurgical planning purposes. It supports a wide range of research investigations, and is referenced over 3,000 times in the literature (Google Scholar search for "mrtrix3"), including over 1,000 times for surgery specifically (Google Scholar search for "mrtrix surgery"). It has an active forum with over 1,700 registered users. It is estimated to have been downloaded at least 30,000 times (though exact numbers are difficult to obtain given its open-source nature). It is used in a range of commercial environments, including companies such as IcoMetrix, IXICO, QMenta and CVL. |
| URL | https://www.mrtrix.org/ |
| Description | MRtrix3 workshop 2023, KU Leuven |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | 4 day workshop for 48 delegates on the principles and use of the MRtrix3 software package, to train and support researchers working in the field of diffusion MRI to make full use of the software to deliver high impact research. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://www.mrtrix.org/2023/02/03/the-next-mrtrix3-workshop-will-be-held-in-leuven-belgium-11-14-sep... |
| Description | MRtrix3 workshop 2024, Taiwan |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | 4 day workshop for up to 60 delegates on the principles and use of the MRtrix3 software package, to train and support researchers working in the field of diffusion MRI to make full use of the software to deliver high impact research. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://www.mrtrix.org/2024/01/20/next-mrtrix3-workshop-will-be-held-in-taiwan-1-4-july-2024/ |