nibsaveimg

nibsaveimg is a utility function in the nib software library used to write neuroimaging image data from memory to disk. It provides a concise, high-level interface for persisting image arrays together with optional metadata to common file formats used in neuroimaging workflows. The function is designed to be easy to integrate in data processing pipelines, handling basic validation and format selection based on the target filename.

Typical usage involves providing a data array (often a 3D volume or a 4D time series), an optional header object containing metadata, an optional 4x4 affine transformation matrix, and a target filename. If the filename extension is recognized, nibsaveimg selects an appropriate writer and saves the data in that format. Common outputs include NIfTI-1 files with extensions .nii or .nii.gz and Analyze 7.5 paired files (.hdr and .img). The function aims to preserve data type and spatial metadata when possible and may automatically generate default header information if none is supplied.

Implementation-wise, nibsaveimg usually constructs an internal image object from the input data, header, and affine, and then delegates to the library’s underlying save mechanism. This approach minimizes boilerplate in scripts while ensuring compatibility with the surrounding neuroimaging tools.

Limitations and compatibility notes: the data array should align with the chosen format’s expectations (e.g., 3D or 4D shapes), and provided header/affine should be consistent with the data. If inconsistencies are detected, the function raises errors to prevent invalid outputs.

See also: nib library, nibabel, NIfTI, Analyze, data formats in neuroimaging.