title: Alignment of CT images of skull dysmorphology using anatomy-based perpendicular axes.
abstract: Rigid body registration of 3D CT scans, based on manual identification of homologous landmarks, is useful for the visual analysis of skull dysmorphology. In this paper, a robust and simple alignment method was proposed to allow for the comparison of skull morphologies, within and between individuals with craniofacial anomalies, based on 3D CT scans, and the minimum number of anatomical landmarks, under rigidity and uniqueness constraints. Three perpendicular axes, extracted from anatomical landmarks, define the absolute coordinate system, through a rigid body transformation, to align multiple CT images for different patients and acquisition times. The accuracy of the alignment method depends on the accuracy of the localized landmarks and target points. The numerical simulation generalizes the accuracy requirements of the alignment method. Experiments using a human dried skull specimen, and ten sets of skull CT images (the pre- and post-operative CT scans of four plagiocephaly, and one fibrous dysplasia patients), demonstrated the feasibility of the technique in clinical practice.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Engineering, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. sgm625@yumc.yonsei.ac.kr
authors.forename: Sun K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Yoo
authors.forename: Yong O
authors.initials: YO
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Hee-Joung
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Nam H
authors.initials: NH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Young Beom
authors.initials: YB
authors.lastname: Jang
authors.forename: Kee-Deog
authors.initials: KD
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Hye-Yeon
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000465:Algorithms; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003198:Computer Simulation; D005260:Female; D005357:Fibrous Dysplasia of Bone / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D006801:Humans; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional / Q000379:methods*; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D011786:Quality Control; D011856:Radiographic Image Enhancement / Q000379:methods*; D011857:Radiographic Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012886:Skull / Q000002:abnormalities* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D013382:Subtraction Technique; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods*