3D models/surface meshes, volumetric data and practise data of the segmented right cheek complex of a Placoderm fossil fish ANU V244 from Early Devonian Australia. Supplementary information for 3D segmentation of computed tomography data: Drishti Paint: New tools and developments.

Article abstract: Computational tomography is more and more widely used in many fields for its non-destructive and high-resolution means of detecting internal structures of the samples. 3D segmentation of computed tomography data, which sheds light on internal features of target objects, is increasingly gaining in importance. There are mature tools and software available to perform good 3D segmentation results. However, the powerful functionalities and capabilities of open-sourced software have not revealed fully. Here, using a set of scan data of fossil fish as a case study, we present a new release of open-source volume exploration, rendering, and 3D segmentation software, Drishti v2.7.

Furthermore, we also introduce a new tool for thresholding volume data (i.e. gradient thresholding) and a protocol for performing 3D segmentation includes using 3D Freeform Painter, mesh generation and simplification. We provide new tools and workflow to segment computed tomography data and thus benefiting the scientific community with more accurate and precise digital reconstruction, 3D modelling and 3D printing results. Our procedure is widely applicable not only in palaeontology, but also in biological, medical, and industrial researches. It can be used as a framework to segment computed tomography and other forms of volumetric data from any research field.