Method of pectus excavatum measurement based on structured light technique.

Area of Science:

• Medical Imaging and Biomechanics
• Computer-Aided Surgery and Diagnostics

Background:

• Pectus excavatum is a congenital chest wall deformity requiring accurate severity assessment.
• Current assessment methods, like computed tomography (CT) scans, involve radiation exposure and can be costly.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate an automated, non-invasive method for assessing pectus excavatum severity.
• To introduce a novel 3D shape parameter that correlates with established clinical indices.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a four-directional structured light projection system for optical 3D markerless surface measurement.
• Developed an automated data analysis pipeline including trunk model normalization, slicing, and shape analysis.
• Introduced a new 3D shape parameter, I(3ds), for severity quantification.

Main Results:

• The developed optical 3D measurement system successfully captured patient body surface shapes.
• The automated analysis pipeline effectively processed the 3D data.
• The novel I(3ds) parameter demonstrated a high correlation with the CT-derived Haller index.

Conclusions:

• The proposed optical 3D method provides an accurate and non-invasive approach for pectus excavatum severity assessment.
• The I(3ds) parameter shows potential as a reliable alternative to CT-based measurements.
• This technology could enhance clinical evaluation and monitoring of pectus excavatum.