Past, Present and Future of Open Science (Lightning talk): AFNI - From Then to Now and Beyond

[jsheunis]

AFNI - From Then to Now and Beyond

By Robert Cox, NIMH, Bethesda MD USA

• Theme: Past, Present and Future of Open Science
• Format: Lightning talk

Abstract

AFNI was started in 1994 to be a 3D and 3D+time tool set for FMRI-based researchers I worked with in Milwaukee. Up to that time, data was analyzed and looked at only in the 2D slices output from the scanners. I chose the C language for AFNI development as that was the language widely used in the MRI physics world, and C++ was not yet standardized (or efficient). In early 1995, I put the source code for AFNI on a new departmental website, and AFNI has been open source since then. In 1996-7, realtime image input and analysis was added to AFNI, and then realtime 3D image registration. In 2001, I moved to the NIH to support the new and growing FMRI program. By now, AFNI comprises over 1 million lines of code in C, Python, R, shell scripts, etc. Distinctive features of AFNI include advanced group analysis methods (parametric and Bayesian), and interactive visualization combining 2D cut planes, surface models, DTI tracts, FMRI connectivity measures, and atlas-based navigation. Looking ahead, more intricate single-subject and group analyses are in the works, as are structural analysis pipelines. Plans for a new GUI are being developed, to include use of multi-resolution datasets, while the older GUI is still being enhanced. However, AFNI’s future is largely driven by user needs and requests, so check us out at https://github.com/afni/afni or https://afni.nimh.nih.gov/

Useful Links

https://github.com/afni/afni
https://afni.nimh.nih.gov/

Tagging @afni-rwcox

[afni-rwcox]

Talk details look good to me -- Bob Cox / AFNIman