Spatiotemporal visualization of neuromagnetic data

We describe the development of a computer visualization tool that displays topographic maps of neuromagnetic data on realistic head shapes. Two topographic display modes are implemented--a raw mode that depicts the actual position, orientation, and corresponding magnetic field data of each detection coil with respect to the head shape, and an interpolated mode, where the magnetic data are smoothly interpolated over the scalp. False coloration is used to represent magnetic field strength. The topographic displays are coupled with wave form displays in order to integrate spatial and temporal visualization of the data. The X Window system is used to write device independent, network-transparent computer code.