  3D Slicer, a brain imaging and visualization computer application developed
at Brigham and Women's Hospital's Surgical Planning Lab, was used to visualize
the IC 348 star-forming complex in Perseus in RA-DEC-Velocity space. This
project is part of a collaboration between Harvard University's Astronomy
Department and Medical School, and serves as a proof-of-concept technology
demonstration for Harvard's Institute for Innovative Computing (IIC). 3D Slicer
is capable of displaying volumes (data cubes), slices in any direction through
the volume, 3D models generated from the volume, and 3D models of label maps.
The 3D spectral line maps of IC 348 were created using 13CO and C18O data
collected at the FCRAO (Five College Radio Astronomy Observatory). The 3D
visualization makes the identification of the cloud's inner dense cores and
velocity structure components easier than current conventional astronomical
methods. It is planned for 3D Slicer to be enhanced with astrophysics-specific
features resulting in an astronomical version to be available online through
the IIC and in conjunction with the National Virtual Observatory (NVO).
