"Visual Informatics: Bridging Research and Practice" is a comprehensive textbook that addresses the interdisciplinary field of visual informatics. This book is aimed not only at professionals in information technology and computer science but also at experts from engineering, medicine, health informatics, and education. Since the early 1990s, visual informatics has evolved into a significant research field that is gaining increasing importance. It encompasses a wide range of topics, including computer vision, information visualization, real-time image processing, medical image processing, and virtual reality. The book provides a platform for the exchange of knowledge and research findings and promotes collaboration between different disciplines and regions to support the development and application of visual informatics. The first International Conference on Visual Informatics (IVIC 2009) was established to bring together experts from around the world and to advance progress in this dynamic research area.