title: Anatomic modeling from unstructured samples using variational implicit surfaces.
abstract: We describe the use of variational implicit surfaces (level sets of an embedded generating function modeled using radial basis interpolants) in anatomic modeling. This technique allows the practitioner to employ sparsely and unevenly sampled data to represent complex biological surfaces, including data acquired as a series of non-parallel image slices. The method inherently accommodates interpolation across irregular spans. In addition, shapes with arbitrary topology are easily represented without interpolation or aliasing errors arising from discrete sampling. To demonstrate the medical use of variational implicit surfaces, we present the reconstruction of the inner surfaces of blood vessels from a series of endovascular ultrasound images.
authors.affiliation: National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20894, USA.
authors.forename: T S
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Yoo
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Morse
authors.forename: K R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Subramanian
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Rheingans
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Ackerman
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001011:Aorta / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D002417:Cattle; D003196:Computer Graphics; D003198:Computer Simulation; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional; D008953:Models, Anatomic; D018084:Ultrasonography, Interventional; D014584:User-Computer Interface