The vascular structure within a plant is a network of vascular bundles that transport nutrients and water. Analyzing the organization of vascular bundles can lead to a better understanding of the vascular structure's role in the development of plants. One way to analyze the vascular structure is by scanning plant samples using X-ray micro-CT and then annotate the volumetric data digitally. However, this process is challenging due to the complex arrangement of vascular bundles and lack of contrast from other nearby anatomic structures. To address these problems, we developed a system to annotate the vascular structure of plant samples using force feedback to interact with the surface of objects and along the centerline of tubular structures. This system annotated the vascular structure of flower heads such as Gerbera hybrida, and inflorescences such as Arabidopsis thaliana. User study participants found the haptic assistance helpful for interacting with and annotating plant samples.
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