diff --git a/posts/2026/2026_05_25_Tomas.rst b/posts/2026/2026_05_25_Tomas.rst new file mode 100644 index 00000000..5a6432c7 --- /dev/null +++ b/posts/2026/2026_05_25_Tomas.rst @@ -0,0 +1,129 @@ +Starting My GSoC Journey with DIPY +================================== + +.. post:: May 25 2026 + :author: Tomas Guija-Valiente + :tags: google + :category: gsoc + +Hello everyone! + +My name is Tomás Guija Valiente, and I am excited to share that I have +been selected as a `Google Summer of Code `_ contributor with `DIPY `_ under the `Python Software Foundation `_. Over the +next few months, I will be working on improving DIPY's image registration +tools by adding new similarity metrics, with a special focus on Mutual +Information for deformable registration. + +This first post is a short introduction to me, the project, and what I +have been doing during the Community Bonding period. + +About Me +-------- + +I am a Computer Vision Researcher in Medical Imaging at `PROMISE - +LAIMBIO `_, the medical imaging lab at `Universidad Rey Juan Carlos `_ in +Madrid, Spain. Before that, I studied at `Universidad de Sevilla `_, where I +completed a double Bachelor's Degree in Mathematics and Computer Science, +and later earned a Master's Degree in Artificial Intelligence at +`Universidad Politecnica de Madrid `_. + +During my Master's, I became increasingly interested in open source and +research. That eventually led me to my current work, where I focus on +deep learning techniques for medical image processing and generative +methods. GSoC felt like a very natural next step: it combines open source, +medical imaging, scientific software, and the chance to learn from a +strong technical community. + +My selected project is titled `**Adding New Similarity Metrics for DIPY's +Image Registration Frameworks** `_ (see full details `here `_). It is planned as a short GSoC project, +with an initial scope of 90 hours and an expected end date near the +beginning of August. If needed, the project scope may be expanded as the +work progresses. + +Community Bonding Period +------------------------ + +The Community Bonding period has been a great way to enter the project +step by step. These first weeks were dedicated to meeting mentors, +understanding the project goals more clearly, getting familiar with +DIPY's development workflow, and turning the initial proposal into a more +concrete implementation plan. + +The first meetings were a warm welcome for both me and my colleague +`Medha `_, who will be contributing to `FURY `_, a closely related project. +We had time to introduce ourselves, discuss expectations, +ask questions, and of course start looking at code. + +Project Overview +---------------- + +The main goal of my project is to implement a new similarity metric for +deformable medical image registration in DIPY. In particular, I will work +on **Mutual Information**, a metric that is especially useful for +multimodal registration problems. + +DIPY already includes a Mutual Information implementation for affine +registration. However, deformable registration currently relies on other +metrics. Adding Mutual Information to this part of the registration +framework could make DIPY more flexible for real medical imaging +workflows, where images from different modalities often need to be +aligned accurately. + +Alongside the main implementation, I also plan to explore a few secondary +goals: + +- Build a fair benchmark for comparing DIPY's registration framework + against other well-known open source solutions. +- Use those comparisons to better understand the strengths, limitations, + and possible improvements of the current optimization strategies. +- Continue working, if time allows, on my existing pull request: + `Cython implementation for the Python nested triple loop on localpca eig path `_. + +Progress So Far +--------------- + +During the Community Bonding period, I started by studying the existing +registration code and reading more about how DIPY currently structures +its affine and deformable registration tools. I also began setting up a +benchmarking workflow for SyN registration comparisons, which should help +evaluate future changes in a more systematic way. + +In parallel, I have been thinking through the design of the Mutual +Information implementation. One of the important questions is how to make +the metric cleanly integrated with the current codebase while keeping the +solution general enough to be useful beyond a single registration path. + +What's Next? +------------ + +As the Coding period begins, my next steps are: + +- Finalize the implementation plan for Mutual Information in deformable + registration. +- Study existing approaches in DIPY and in other open source registration + tools to identify useful design patterns. +- Start implementing the metric in a way that fits naturally into DIPY's + current registration framework. +- Add tests and examples so the new functionality is easier to review, + maintain, and use. +- Continue refining the benchmarking setup for fair comparisons. + +First Impressions +----------------- + +These first weeks have already made me feel welcome in the DIPY +community. I am especially grateful to `Serge `_ and `Atharva `_ for their trust, +guidance, and encouragement as I get started. + +I am looking forward to learning a lot, contributing useful code, and +sharing the process as the project develops. There is still plenty to +discover, but that is exactly what makes the beginning of this journey so +exciting. + +Find Me Online +-------------- + +- GitHub: `TomasGuija `_ +- LinkedIn: `Tomás Guija Valiente `_ + +Thank you for reading!