A Novel Method for Planning Liver Resections Using Deformable B ézier Surfaces and Distance Maps

Background and Objective: For more than a decade, computer-assisted surgical systems have been helping surgeons to plan liver resections. The most widespread strategies to plan liver resections are: drawing traces in individual 2D slices, and using a 3D deformable plane. In this work, we propose a novel method which requires low level of user interaction while keeping high flexibility to specify resections. Methods: Our method is based on the use of B ézier surfaces, which can be deformed using a grid of control points, and distance maps as a base to compute and visualize resection margins (indicators of safety) in real-time.

Source: Computer Methods and Programs in Biomedicine - March 24, 2017 Category: Bioinformatics Authors: Rafael Palomar, Faouzi A. Cheikh, Bj ørn Edwin, Åsmund Fretland, Azeddine Beghdadi, Ole J. Elle Source Type: research