title: A three-stage method for the 3D reconstruction of the tracheobronchial tree from CT scans.
abstract: This paper proposes a method for segmenting the airways from CT scans of the chest to obtain a 3D model that can be used in the virtual bronchoscopy for the exploration and the planning of paths to the lesions. The method is composed of 3 stages: a gross segmentation that reconstructs the main airway tree using adaptive region growing, a finer segmentation that identifies any potential airway region based on a 2D process that enhances bronchi walls using local information, and a final process to connect any isolated bronchus to the main airways using a morphologic reconstruction process and a path planning technique. The paper includes two examples for the evaluation and discussion of the proposal.
authors: Institute of Industrial and Control Engineering (IOC), Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC), Barcelona, Spain. Electronic address: jan.rosell@upc.edu.
authors: Jan
authors: J
authors: Rosell
authors: Paolo
authors: P
authors: Cabras
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D001995:Bronchography / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional / Q000379:methods*; D010363:Pattern Recognition, Automated / Q000379:methods*; D011856:Radiographic Image Enhancement / Q000379:methods; D011857:Radiographic Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D013902:Radiography, Thoracic / Q000379:methods; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013382:Subtraction Technique; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods*; D014132:Trachea / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*
keywords: Airway segmentation; Bronchi wall detection; Path planning; Region growing; Virtual bronchoscopy