Three-dimensional Reconstruction Of Chest Imaging Visual Simulation Feasibility Study For Thoracic Surgery

Objective:To study the feasibility of formulating virtual chest surgery designs with current 3-D simulators on personal computers.Methods:3 cases from Guangzhou Overseas Chinese Hospital, one of thoracic gunshot wounds with bullet remains, one of chest deformity due to trauma, and one of funnel chest, were examined. The patients were CT-scanned before surgery. Their acquired CT data were then separately imported into Mimics in DICOM format for segmentation:The interesting region is divided into a separate entity and is assigned a specific color. Thus a model is constructed for measurement and analysis. The model is then imported into 3ds Max in VRML format for surgical simulation, and a virtual surgical plan for the operation is made by means of clinical knowledge. This plan is compared with the actual surgery process, and the simulated preoperative images are compared with postoperative imagine data.Results:The virtual surgical plan made preoperatively is in line with the actual surgical plan in general, in terms of approach, length of steel plate for rebuilding, position of introduction, fixation, and mark indicative of the bullet remains of the gunshot wounds case. Conclusion:The current 3-D graphic processing software such as Mimics and 3dsMax were proven useful in formulating preoperative designs and plans, in that it gives the surgeon a clear view of the pathological status of the patient. The application of the software proves to be substantially valuable in the making of thoracic surgery plans.