Graphical tools for improved definition of 3D arterial trees

Very large 3D digital images of arterial trees can be produced by many imaging scanners. While many automatic approaches have been proposed that can begin the process of defining the 3D arterial tree captured in such an image, none guarantee complete, accurate definition. This paper proposes semi-automatic techniques for coming closer to the ultimate goal of defining a complete and accurate 3D arterial tree. As pointed out previously, automated techniques are essential for beginning the process of extracting a complex 3D arterial tree from a large 3D micro-CT image. Yet, many problems arise in this definition of the tree. Our system, initially expounded upon in an earlier effort, uses a series of interactive and semi-automatic tools to examine and correct the identified problems. The system has 3D graphical tools for viewing global and local renderings of the extracted tree, revealing sliding thin-slab views, maximum-intensity projections, multi-planar reformatted slices, and a global/local 2D graphical tree map. The user can invoke several semi-automatic tools for changing the tree as well. The presented results demonstrate the potential of the system.