Colon straightening based on elastic mechanics model
Z. Zhang, Jinghua LI, M.J. Ackerman · 2005
Early detection and removal of polyps can reduce mortality due to colon cancers. In CT colonography, colon straightening can facilitate visualization and detection of polyps. We presented a new method to straighten the colon based on an elastic deformation model with specially designated boundary conditions and centerline constraints. With a digitally generated phantom it was demonstrated that the elastic deformation model can straighten the colon in a consistent manner (i.e., to preserve the relative spatial relationships of points on the colon surface, such as left vs. right, up vs. down) and can handle large-angle bendings in colon geometry. It was observed that the proposed model may impose relatively small distortion effects on structures on the colon surface after straightening. Further research was mentioned.