Automatic detection System for Degenerative Disk and simulation for artificial disc replacement surgery in the spine

This paper presents an automatic detection system for the degenerative disc and simulates the artificial disc replacement surgery in the spine. It starts by visualizing the Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) in three views and then identifies regions for the lumber or sacral, followed by applying an adaptive threshold and modified region growing techniques to separate the spine from the surrounding tissues, organs, and bones. Then, segment each vertebral in the spine using K-means clustering algorithm. Then, the distance of intervertebral space was computed to detect the degenerative disk automatically in the lumbar region. Finally, the replacement surgery simulation occurred to design the disc with exact dimensions and identifies the appropriate place that will be implanted in the spine. The proposed system was tested on ten 3D computed tomography (CT) images downloaded from the Cancer Imaging Archive (TCIA). It was accessible to implant the artificial disk instead of the degenerative disk in the space that was specified automatically by the proposed system. The experimental outcomes positively demonstrate that the intended system is efficacious in the detection of degenerative disc and replacement of artificial disc simulation.