A programming device compares filter information to information that describes possible combinations of the electrodes within an electrode set implanted in a patient. The filter information describes at least one characteristic of valid, e.g., desired, electrode combinations, and in exemplary embodiments, is received from a user, e.g., a clinician, via a user interface of the programming device. The filter information can describe a number of electrodes in valid combinations, a fixed polarity for an electrode for valid combinations, or relational characteristics of the electrodes of valid combinations. The comparison process may be iterative. The programming device identifies a subset of the possible electrode combinations based on the comparison. By identifying the valid subset of electrode combinations based on the filter information, the programming device may reduce the amount of clinician and patient time required to program an implantable neurostimulator.

Described is a system, method and computer program product for rendering volumetric multivalued primary data. The system includes a rendering engine having an input coupled to a source of multivalued primary data and an output coupled to a display. The rendering engine includes a data processor for calculating additional data values from the primary data, deriving at least one visual representation from the primary data and the additional data values, and mapping the derived visual representation through transfer functions to hardware primitives for volumetrically rendering the derived visual representation to provide a visualization. The system further includes a user interface for interacting with the visualization. The source of primary data can be a magnetic resonance imaging system, and the primary data may be a multivalued combination obtained from T1 weighted data, T2 weighted data, diffusion data, velocity data, magnetization transfer data, perfusion data, data derived from other imaging modalities (e.g., PET), and simulation data. The primary data can be diffusion tensor data generated by the MRI system from tissue, and the data processor operates to identify directed diffusion paths and to render the directed diffusion paths as thread-like structures. Indications of at least flowing blood velocity and vorticity can also be rendered from MRI data or from simulations.

The invention is directed toward two-dimensional dynamic body image templates, and associated techniques, that allow a user to indicate regions of the human body. The body region indications may correspond to locations of injury, pain, treatment, discoloration, paresthesia, or the like. A user is presented with the body image templates and asked to indicate regions on the body templates that correspond to affected regions of a patient's body. The body image templates represent views of an external surface of a human body rotated about at least one axis. In exemplary embodiments, a user controls display of overlapping templates, which may allow the user to perceive rotation of a three-dimensional body surface. The user indicated regions from each of the displayed body image templates are stored in a body surface coordinate system, such that regions indicated via one template may be appropriately displayed on other templates.