3D curvilinear lattice as a tool for representing free-form surfaces
Feng Lin, Seah Hock Soon, Lee Yong Tsui, Chong Man Nang, Daniel H. Tan, David Flyn, Peter Mack · Proceedings of SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineering/Proceedings of SPIE · 1995
Various tomographic imaging systems start data processing with a series of 2D images acquired from the target objects. To describe the geometry of complex structures, such as in biomechanical and orthopaedic investigation, we need methods to reconstruct 3D surface boundaries of the objects from 2D contours in the images. Of primary importance is an effective and efficient data structure for representing these free-form surfaces. This paper presents a representation scheme for free-form surface patch by a 3D curvilinear lattice. Coupled with the Marching Cubes algorithm, the new data structure provides a uniform representation for different types of surfaces and its output can be visualized using a normal graphic renderer. The method considerably reduces memory required for boundary generation compared to the conventional way where iso-surfaces are evaluated from a volume. It also speeds up the surface rendering procedure by the reduction of surface triangulation. We illustrate its abilities in handling surfaces with different topological structures.