Interactive Thickness Visualization of Articular Cartilage

• Published in: 2004 IEEE Visualization Conference pp. 521 - 528
• Main Authors: Mlejnek, Matej, Vilanova, Anna, Groller, Meister Eduard
• Format: Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC, USA IEEE Computer Society 01.01.2004; IEEE
• Series: ACM Conferences
• Subjects: applications of visualization; Applied sciences; Artificial intelligence; Biomedical imaging; Bones; Computer science; control theory; systems; Computing methodologies; Computing methodologies > Computer graphics; Computing methodologies > Computer graphics > Shape modeling; Data visualization; Exact sciences and technology; Image reconstruction; Inspection; Magnetic resonance imaging; Medical diagnostic imaging; Osteoarthritis; Pattern recognition. Digital image processing. Computational geometry; Surface reconstruction; Theory of computation; Theory of computation > Randomness, geometry and discrete structures; Thickness measurement; visualization in medicine; applications of visualization; visualization in medicine; Tissue; Flattening; User interface; Size effect; Unfolding; Minimization; Image rendering; Tridimensional image; Curvature; Nuclear magnetic resonance imaging; Medical application
• ISBN: 0780387880; 9780780387881
• DOI: 10.1109/VISUAL.2004.56

This paper describes a method to visualize the thickness of curved thin objects. Given the MRI volume data of articular cartilage, medical doctors investigate pathological changes of the thickness. Since the tissue is very thin, it is impossible to reliably map the thickness information by direct volume rendering. Our idea is based on unfolding of such structures preserving their thickness. This allows to perform anisotropic geometrical operations (e.g., scaling the thickness). However, flattening of a curved structure implies a distortion of its surface. The distortion problem is alleviated through a focus-and-context minimization approach. Distortion is smallest close to a focal point which can be interactively selected by the user.