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R. D. Swift, W. E. Higgins, E. A. Hoffman, G. McLennan, and J. M. Reinhardt. Automatic axis generation for 3D virtual-bronchoscopic image assessment. In E. A. Hoffman, ed., Proc. SPIE Conf. Medical Imaging, vol. 3337, pp. 73-84, San Diego, CA, 1998.

Abstract: A high-resolution 3D CT pulmonary image provides a virtual copy of the chest. Useful diagnostic information can be obtained by interactively navigating through a 3D pulmonary image in a manner similar to an endoscopic examination (virtual bronchoscopy). This navigation can be done manually as follows: (1) hand segment the major airways in the image; (2) compute axes through the segmented image using either an interactive program or automated means; (3) apply 3D visual and quantitative tools to assess the given subject, using the previously defined axes. This manual approach requires considerable human-operator time and expertise; plus, it is prone to errors. We have devised an automatic approach for finding smooth central axes through the major airways. The method works on anisotropically sampled gray-scale images, and it does not require prior segmentation. The only human interaction it needs is the specification of a starting point. The method uses an adaptive searching technique. It is able to extract multiple axes through a 3D image in only a few minutes for a typical 512X512X25 3D CT image. Our paper describes the method and compares it to the traditional manual approach for analyzing 3D pulmonary images. We give comparison results for sample phantom, animal, and human images. Visual results, in the context of a virtual-bronchoscopic system, will also be provided. In conclusion, the automatic approach has the potential to provide greatly reduced human interaction time over manual analysis for assessing major-airway obstructions. Hence, it could eventually make virtual bronchoscopy a more useful tool for standard clinical assessment and treatment planning.

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Keywords: airways bronchoscopy

Other publications by: R. D. Swift, W. E. Higgins, E. A. Hoffman, G. McLennan, J. M. Reinhardt

Related journal papers:

C. P. Rooney, M. Suter, G. McLennan, M. Donnelley, J. M. Reinhardt, A. Delsing, E. A. Hoffman, and J. Zabner. Laser Fluorescence Bronchoscopy for Detection of Fluorescent Reporter Genes in Airway Epithelia. Gene Therapy, vol. 9, no. 23, pp. 1639-1644, 2002. (details)
M. Suter, J. Tschirren, J. M. Reinhardt, M. Sonka, E. A. Hoffman, W. E. Higgins, and G. McLennan. Evaluation of the human airway with multi-detector X-ray computed tomography and optical imaging. Physiological Measurement, vol. 25, no. 4, pp. 837-847, 2004. (details)
M. Suter, J. M. Reinhardt, P. Montague, P. Taft, J. Lee, J. Zabner, and G. McLennan. Bronchoscopic imaging of the pulmonary mucosal vasculature responses to inflammatory mediators. J. Biomed. Optics, vol. 10, no. 3, pg. 34013, 2005. (details)
M. Suter, G. McLennan, J. M. Reinhardt, D. Riker, and E. A. Hoffman. Macro-optical color assessment of the pulmonary airways with subsequent three-dimensional multidetector-x-ray-computed-tomography assisted display. J. Biomed. Optics, vol. 10, no. 5, pg. 51703, 2005. (details)
M. Suter, J. M. Reinhardt, and G. McLennan. Integrated CT/bronchoscopy in the central airways: Preliminary results. Acad. Radiol., vol. 15, no. 6, pp. 786-798, 2008. (details)

Related conference papers:

A. Kiraly, W. E. Higgins, E. A. Hoffman, G. McLennan, and J. M. Reinhardt. 3D human airway segmentation for virtual bronchoscopy. In A. V. Clough and C.-T. Chen, eds., Proc. SPIE Conf. Medical Imaging, vol. 4683, pp. 16-29, San Diego, CA, 2002. (details)
D. Gopalakrishnan, G. McLennan, M. Donnelley, A. Delsing, M. Suter, D. Flaherty, J. Zabner, E. A. Hoffman, and J. M. Reinhardt. Color bronchoscopic analysis of the human airway tree. In A. V. Clough and C.-T. Chen, eds., Proc. SPIE Conf. Medical Imaging, vol. 4683, pp. 341-351, San Diego, CA, 2002. (details)
M. Suter, J. M. Reinhardt, M. Sonka, W. E. Higgins, E. A. Hoffman, and G. McLennan. Three-dimensional true color topographical analysis of the pulmonary airways. In A. Amini and A. Manduca, eds., Proc. SPIE Conf. Medical Imaging, vol. 5369, pp. 189-198, San Diego, CA, 2004. (details)
A. Kiraly, J. M. Reinhardt, E. A. Hoffman, G. McLennan, and W. E. Higgins. Virtual bronchoscopy for quantitative airway analysis. In A. Amini and A. Manduca, eds., Proc. SPIE Conf. Medical Imaging, vol. 5746, pp. 369-383, San Diego, CA, 2005. (details)
M. Suter, J. M. Reinhardt, D. Easker, D. Riker, E. A. Hoffman, and G. McLennan. Classification of pulmonary airway disease based on mucosal color analysis. In A. Amini and A. Manduca, eds., Proc. SPIE Conf. Medical Imaging, vol. 5746, pp. 465-473, San Diego, CA, 2005. (details)

Related theses:

D. Gopalakrishnan. Color analysis of the human airway wall. MS thesis, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, 2003. (details)
D. Aykac. Segmentation and analysis of the human airway tree from 3D X-ray CT images. MS thesis, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, 2000. (details)
O. Saba. Accurate estimation of airway geometry with tilt angle estimation from 2D HRCT slices. MS thesis, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, 2000. (details)
S. V. Bodas. Improved association graph matching of intra-patient airway trees. MS thesis, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, 2008. (details)