ExMicro VR

@Hiloni(04/11)

Description

ExMicroVR is the software that allows display and analysis ofMulti-channel Confocal microscopic Image-Stacks.

Tutorials

Instaling ExMicroVR VR on Oculus Quest 2- link

  • Instructions on how to download and install software on Quest 2

Download and Open Dataset- link

  • Instructions on opening datasets in ExMicro VR

Data Soruces/Format

Data can be loaded through Load data -> Select path -> Load Button.

3D volumentric object files-

Supported File format: "NIfTI(.nii)"

Confocal Microscopic Images-

Convert to ".NIfTI" using ImageJ (For multi channel images, create a directory with one NIfTI file for each channel)

Other supported file formats-

Images- Composite, RGB files

Images might take upto 30 seconds to load.

VR Controls

Instructions on how to navigate through ExMicro VR can be found here (Check subsection- "Start Confocal VR, Try out test image, Manipulating image, Controlling channel visibility).

Environment

Multiple User

Allows multiple user to join using the same VR Room name and if the same data has been loaded. Find more instructions here (Sub section- Collaboration Capabilities).

Single User

Allow you to edit and work in your workspace independently.

Communication

Avatars-

For multiple users, it allows you to see avatar of other person and head and hand movements and gestures.

Pointers-

For multiple users, you can see hand gestures and pointers of users in VR.

Bi-directional Audio-

For multiple users, you have access to bi-directional audio so you can easily communicate in Virtual reality.

Minimum System Requirements (VR Mode)

OS: Windows 10

VR Headset: HTC Vive, WMR, Rift-S, Quest-2 in link-mode, Microsoft Mixed-reality.

Work station: NVIDIA 1070 class VR workstations

Check system compatibility- link

Documentation

https://www.immsci.com/exmicrovr_users_guide/

Metrics

Accessibility: The estimated time for someone to load and start visualizing data in VR

  • Beginner: No coding or graphics experience | < 1 hour

  • Intermediate: Some coding or graphics experience | < 1 hour

  • Advanced: Both coding and graphics experience | < 30 mins

  • Expert: A lot of experience with VR visualization | < 30 mins

  • Takeaway:

  • This software provides with few features to load, manipulate, controlling channel visibility and settings, a background in biology can be really helpful. Also, some of the features lag in Virtual reality but they provide with multiple features to adjust channels.

  • Power: The engine's power- i.e. how much once can do with this

  • Medium- Although, it provides features like channels such as "zoom depth", "Zoom", channel settings, etc. it still faces some lag in VR mode and application is limited to biology.

Usage: Evaluation of software's use for the following purposes

  • Expansion microscopy

  • Manipulating Image

  • Controlling different channels

  • Collaborative editing

Pricing

Non-profit (Free)

  • Access all the available features and wor collaboratively.

ExMicro VR Commercial Licensing

  • Contact ImmSci for commercial Licensing.

Limitations

Some of the limitations of using this software-

  • Load up to 30 channels of 3D imqage stacks(NIfTI .nii)