In Proceedings of 3D NordOst Workshop

Conformal multi-material mesh generation from labelled medical volumes

Christian Kehl, Daniel F. Malan, and Elmar Eisemann

Orthopaedic workflow for hip prosthesis replacement: A 3D CT-scan (a) is segmented into labels (b). This discrete volume image is converted to a volume mesh (c). Based on medical simulations (d) [1], optimal implant design and positioning can be determined.

Generating accurate volume meshes from segmented image volumes is important in certain medical applications. One application is finite element analysis (FEA) for orthopaedic pre-operative planning . The resulting FEA models can be used in patient -specific, bio-mechanical simulations andimplants positioning. Currently available software packages for volume meshing of segmented data can generate accurate, usable meshes. However many of them cannot create feature - adaptive volume meshes of multiple intersecting structures while maintaining high precision. An approach that respects both these requirements is based on a dynamic particle system. In this paper, we propose a system that specifically includes the ability to handle multiple labels and their interfaces. Dynamic particle systems are computationally expensive and may be slow. As an improvement to our reference method , we implement a fast Integer Medial Axis algorithm. Furthermore, we propose an improved local triangulation scheme that may enhance the ability to model sharp features with a given particle count. Strict theoretical sampling restrictions limit the flexibility of Delaunay-based meshing methods. We suggest that using a local reconstruction scheme is a good approach to decouple the system from strict sampling limitations. We evaluate our system by comparing it to a reference particle - based meshing implementation. Results show that the choice of the Medial Axis Transform (MAT) methods greatly influences quality and speed of feature adaptive volume meshing.


More Information

Citation

Christian Kehl, Daniel F. Malan, and Elmar Eisemann, Conformal multi-material mesh generation from labelled medical volumes, In Proceedings of 3D NordOst Workshop, 15, 2012.

BibTex

@inproceedings{bib:kehl:2012,
    author       = { Kehl, Christian and Malan, Daniel F. and Eisemann, Elmar },    
    title        = { Conformal multi-material mesh generation from labelled medical volumes },
    booktitle    = { In Proceedings of 3D NordOst Workshop },
    editors      = { L. Paul, G. Stanke, N. Heuwold, M. Pochanke },
    volume       = { 15 },
    year         = { 2012 },
    organization  = { Gesellschaft zur Foerderung angewandter Informatik },
    url          = { https://publications.graphics.tudelft.nl/papers/389 },
}