Similar Tensor Arrays - A Framework for Storage of Tensor Array Data

Abstract

This chapter describes a framework for storage of tensor array data, useful to describe regularly sampled tensor fields. The main component of the framework, called Similar Tensor Array Core (STAC), is the result of a collaboration between research groups within the SIMILAR network of excellence. It aims to capture the essence of regularly sampled tensor fields using a minimal set of attributes and can therefore be used as a "greatest common divisor" and interface between tensor array processing algorithms. This is potentially useful in applied fields like medical image analysis, in particular in Diffusion Tensor MRI, where misinterpretation of tensor array data is a common source of errors. By promoting a strictly geometric perspective on tensor arrays, with a close resemblance to the terminology used in differential geometry, STAC removes ambiguities and guides the user to define all necessary information. In contrast to existing tensor array file formats, it is minimalistic and based on an intrinsic and geometric interpretation of the array itself, without references to other coordinate systems.