Automated Centerline Detection Algorithm for Colon-Like 3D Surfaces
Description of Invention:
The invention is a method for obtaining the centerline of a colon-like surface, which is an important tool for virtual colonoscopy. The invention uses only three steps: (1) computing a shrunken version of the colon surface (2) modeling the shrunken colon by an ordered group of 3D points and (3) selecting equally distanced planes to define equal length segments along the centerline. The centerline is a vital parameter for any virtual colonoscopy technique as it defines a navigation path along which the imaging proceeds and it provides a natural coordinate system for describing polyp detections. A virtual colonoscopy method is described and claimed in NIH-owned U.S. Patent No. 6,246,784. However, detecting the centerline of the colon is a challenging problem for which a number of approaches have been developed. Most of these approaches are not fully automatic, are slow and require the original CT images. The method of this invention is fully automatic, relatively quick and uses only the 3D surface rather than the original CT images.
Inventors:
Gheorghe Iordanescu (CC) Ronald Summers Juan Cebral
Patent Status:
DHHS Reference No. E-311-200/01 filed 27 Dec 2001
Portfolios: Devices/Instrumentation
Devices/Instrumentation-Diagnostics
For Additional Information Please Contact: Michael Shmilovich J.D.
NIH Office of Technology Transfer
6011 Executive Blvd, Suite 325
Rockville, MD 20852-3804
Phone: (301) 435-5019
Email: shmilovm@mail.nih.gov
Fax: (301) 402-0220
