For some time, medicine has been an important driver for the development of data processing and visualization techniques. Improved technology offers the capacity to generate larger and more complex data sets related to imaging and simulation. This, in turn, creates the need for more effective visualization tools for medical practitioners to interpret and utilize data in meaningful ways.

The first edition of Visualization in Medicine and Life Sciences (VMLS) emerged from a workshop convened to explore the significant data visualization challenges created by emerging...