Towards an easy generation of scientific three-dimensional models for embedding into 3D PDF (Portable Document Format) files
- Published
- Accepted
- Subject Areas
- Bioinformatics, Translational Medicine, Science and Medical Education, Computational Science
- Keywords
- Portable Document Format, Universal 3D, PDF, 3D, model, U3D, geometry, point cloud, line set, mesh
- Copyright
- © 2014 Newe
- Licence
- This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, reproduction and adaptation in any medium and for any purpose provided that it is properly attributed. For attribution, the original author(s), title, publication source (PeerJ PrePrints) and either DOI or URL of the article must be cited.
- Cite this article
- 2014. Towards an easy generation of scientific three-dimensional models for embedding into 3D PDF (Portable Document Format) files. PeerJ PrePrints 2:e560v1 https://doi.org/10.7287/peerj.preprints.560v1
Abstract
The Portable Document Format (PDF) allows for embedding three-dimensional (3D) models and is therefore particularly suitable to exchange and present respective data, especially as regards scholarly articles. The generation of the necessary model data, however, is still challenging, especially for inexperienced users. This prevents an unrestrained proliferation of 3D PDF usage in scientific communication. This article introduces a new module for the biomedical image processing framework MeVisLab. It enables even novice users to generate the model data files without requiring programming skills and without the need for an intensive training by simply using it as a conversion tool. Advanced users can benefit from the full capability of MeVisLab to generate and export the model data as part of an overall processing chain. Although MeVisLab is primarily designed for handling biomedical image data, the new module is not restricted to this domain. It can be used for all scientific disciplines.
Author Comment
This is a submission to PeerJ PrePrints for comments. It is intended to be submitted to PeerJ for full peer review.
Supplemental Information
Supplemental S1. “Package.zip”
Binary files, module definition files and installation instructions. Using these files, the SaveU3D module can be added to an existing MeVisLab 2.6(.1) installation without the need to compile the source files.
Supplemental S2. “VCG-Example.zip”
An example U3D file of a vectorcardiogram and the resulting 3D-PDF.
Supplemental S3. “Vertebrae-Example.zip”
An example U3D file of a lumbar vertebrae and the resulting 3D-PDF.