Semi-automated Virtual Unfolded View Generation Method of Stomach from CT Volumes

TL;DR

This paper introduces a semi-automated method for generating virtual unfolded views of the stomach from CT volumes, requiring minimal manual input and automating key steps to improve diagnostic visualization.

Contribution

The proposed method automates unfolding force determination and process termination, reducing manual operations in generating virtual stomach views from CT data.

Findings

Achieved successful VU view generation in 76.1% of cases

Automated unfolding process based on shape difference minimization

Validated on 67 CT volumes with promising results

Abstract

CT image-based diagnosis of the stomach is developed as a new way of diagnostic method. A virtual unfolded (VU) view is suitable for displaying its wall. In this paper, we propose a semi-automated method for generating VU views of the stomach. Our method requires minimum manual operations. The determination of the unfolding forces and the termination of the unfolding process are automated. The unfolded shape of the stomach is estimated based on its radius. The unfolding forces are determined so that the stomach wall is deformed to the expected shape. The iterative deformation process is terminated if the difference of the shapes between the deformed shape and expected shape is small. Our experiments using 67 CT volumes showed that our proposed method can generate good VU views for 76.1% cases.