Surface Reconstruction and Optimization of Cerebral Cortex for Application Use

For the purposes of virtual surgery, medical education, medical communication, and realistic surface models of anatomic structures are required. In the most involved method, surface models can be made using segmentation and three-dimensional reconstruction procedures. Such models, however, are computationally expensive, and can be difficult to use. Therefore, optimization is often performed manually, but this is a time-consuming job that requires considerable artistic talent. In this article, the authors describe a method that uses Maya and ZBrush to construct optimized surface models of anatomic structures. The authors take 235 anatomic images generated from a cadaver, and perform segmentation and surface reconstruction using Photoshop and Mimics. Reconstructed surface models of the cerebral cortex are then optimized and divided by a morphing technique in Maya and ZBrush for use in medical applications. The optimized surface models do not require significant storage space, and are easily manufactured and modified. The resulting surface models can be displayed off-line and on-line in real time, as well as on smart phones. Using commercial software with the specialized functions described in this study, it is expected that the efficiencies produced by the proposed method will enable researchers to conveniently create surface models from serially sectioned images such as computed tomographs and magnetic resonance images. The surface models created in this research will also have widespread applications in both medical education and communication.