Analysis of existing methods for 3D modelling of femurs starting from two orthogonal images and development of a script for a commercial software package

BackgroundAt present the interest in medical field about the generation of three-dimensional digital models of anatomical structures increases due to the widespread diffusion of CAS – computer assisted surgery – systems. Most of them are based on CT – computer tomography – or MR – magnetic resonance – data volumes but sometimes this information is not available; there are only few X-ray, ultrasound or fluoroscopic images.MethodsThis paper describes the study and the development of a script for a commercial software package (3ds Max) able to reconfigure the template model of a femur starting from two orthogonal images representing the specific patient's anatomy.ResultsThe script was used in several tests as summarized in this paper and the results appear to be interesting and acceptable, even for the medical experts that evaluated them.ConclusionsThe script developed in this work allows the generation of the 3D model of a femur in a very simple way (the user interface has been developed obeying to the main usability guidelines) and using a widespread commercial package. The quality of the results can be compared to the quality of more expensive and specialized systems.