Cardiovascular disease is one of the biggest killers in the Western world with 63,000 new cases every year in the UK and 38% of those dying within one year of diagnosis. An understanding of the underlying mechanics governing cardiovascular morphology and function is a prerequisite for interpreting and predicting changes induced by the disease. Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance (CMR) imaging is emerging as an important clinical tool for the diagnosis and management of cardiovascular disease because of its safety, versatility, and the high quality images it produces that allow accurate and reproducible quantification of cardiac structure and function. CMR allows full flexibility in imaging oblique planes, and hence permits access to the intrinsic cardiac axes. It has the added advantages of measurements being anatomically correct and allowing a range of functional indices to be measured including ejection fraction, wall thickness, perfusion, myocardial viability, vessel compliance, and blood flow. CMR is an established technique with a proven track record in diagnosing a variety of disorders, ranging from atherosclerosis, myocardial ischaemia/infarction, valvular disease, to congenital heart disease.

CMRtools is a versatile software package that allows interactive viewing and functional analysis of CMR images. The software is built on many years of clinical research in CMR and state-of-the-art image processing and visualization tools. It uses COM and DirectX technology, allowing high performance image manipulation, 3D visualization, and advanced image processing on a standard PC without dedicated hardware. CMRtools consists of a base-line version for extensive image manipulation and measurement, and a number of plug-ins for advanced functional measurement and visualization. The software features a work-flow based software interface that is intuitive and easy to use. All software plug-ins have comprehensive quantification facilities with full analysis session record for providing comprehensive audit trails.