The first joint activities in imaging research in Utrecht took place in 1978 when an interfaculty working group on medical image processing was established. Disciplines represented in this working group included Dentistry, Medical Physics, Nuclear Medicine, Radiology, and Radiotherapy. In 1984 this collaboration became an official spearhead programme of Utrecht University. In 1988, the Faculty of Medicine appointed Max Viergever on the newly established chair in medical imaging.
The institute was called 3D Computer Vision, or 3DCV for short. However, the activities comprised much more than volumetric computer vision, and in 1996 the group was renamed to Image Sciences Institute, and it became one of five research institutes of the University Medical Center Utrecht. Two years later the Graduate School for Biomedical Image Sciences (ImagO) was established, of which ISI is the largest participant.
With around 50 researchers, ISI is one of the largest medical image research groups in Europe. ISI is housed within the Department of Radiology of the University Medical Center Utrecht, and this enables close collaboration between image scientists, clinicians and radiologists. Imaging is one of the seven main directions of research within the University Medical Center Utrecht.
A two year MSc program Medical Imaging (MIx) was started, which is hosted by ISI. So far, this program attracts some fifteen students each year.
This website describes the research carried out at the institute, contains a list of employees and a database of publications, as well as information for students and other researchers.