KR102016959B1 - Method and apparatus for generating blood vessel model - Google Patents

Abstract

A method for generating a blood vessel model performed by a computer is provided. The method includes obtaining at least one polygon constituting a blood vessel, extracting a normal vector from each of the at least one polygon, and determining a center point of the vessel based on the respective normal vector. Calculating, and generating a path of the blood vessel based on the center point of the blood vessel.

Description

Method and apparatus for generating blood vessel model {METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR GENERATING BLOOD VESSEL MODEL}

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for generating a blood vessel model.

In the surgical procedure, there is a need for the development of technologies that can provide information to assist the surgeon in surgery. In order to provide information to assist the operation, the operation should be recognizable.

Conventionally, in order to design a scenario for optimizing a surgical process, a previously taken medical image or a highly skilled doctor was consulted. However, the medical image alone was difficult to judge unnecessary processes. There was a difficult problem to consult.

Therefore, medical imaging and the advice of an experienced doctor were often difficult to use as an aid for the optimization of the surgical process for the patient.

Thus, by optimizing the surgical process by minimizing unnecessary processes in performing surgery using a three-dimensional medical image (for example, a virtual image of the internal movement caused by the movement of the three-dimensional surgical instruments and tools) And, there is a need for the development of a method that can provide surgical assistance information based on this.

In particular, in the case of a three-dimensional medical image including blood vessels, by accurately providing the location and path of each blood vessel, it is possible to determine the overall hierarchy of blood vessels and the flow of blood flow, and thus provide optimal surgical information during surgery or simulation. How to do it.

The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for generating a blood vessel model.

The problem to be solved by the present invention is to generate the overall hierarchy of blood vessels by detecting the path and thickness of the vessel in the vessel model.

The problem to be solved by the present invention is to grasp the correlation and geometric information of blood vessels to be able to specify a more precise surgical operation during the simulation.

Problems to be solved by the present invention are not limited to the above-mentioned problems, and other problems not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a method of generating a blood vessel model performed by a computer may include obtaining at least one polygon constituting a blood vessel, and extracting a normal vector from each of the at least one polygon. Calculating a center point of the blood vessel based on each normal vector, and generating a path of the blood vessel based on the center point of the blood vessel.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the step of calculating the center point of the blood vessel, for each of the normal vector, the intersection of obtaining a polygon located in the opposite direction of the normal vector to meet the opposite direction vector of the normal vector Detecting a point, and calculating a center point of the blood vessel based on the intersection point and the normal vector.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the generating of the path of the blood vessel may include obtaining a plurality of adjacent polygons among the at least one polygon, and based on a center point of the blood vessel with respect to each of the plurality of adjacent polygons. Calculating a mean center point, and generating a path of the blood vessel based on the mean center point of the plurality of adjacent polygons.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the method may further include calculating a diameter of the blood vessel based on the intersection point and the normal vector, and generating the path of the blood vessel by using the diameter of the blood vessel. Can be generated by reflecting on the path.

In one embodiment of the present invention, generating the path of the blood vessel, obtaining a plurality of adjacent polygons of the at least one polygon, based on the diameter of the blood vessel for each of the plurality of adjacent polygons Comprising the step of calculating the average diameter, and reflecting the path of the blood vessel based on the average diameter of the plurality of adjacent polygons.

In one embodiment of the present invention, comparing the average center point with a predetermined value to determine whether the branch on the path of the vessel, and branching the path of the vessel based on the branch point in accordance with the determination result It may further comprise a step.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the method may further include deriving a hierarchical structure for the path of the blood vessel based on the branch point.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the method may further include deriving a flow direction of blood flow on the path of the blood vessel based on the size of each normal vector.

An apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a memory for storing one or more instructions, and a processor for executing the one or more instructions stored in the memory, wherein the processor configures blood vessels by executing the one or more instructions. Obtaining at least one polygon, extracting a normal vector from each of the at least one polygon, calculating a center point of the vessel based on the respective normal vector, and A path of the blood vessel is generated based on the center point of the blood vessel.

A computer program according to an embodiment of the present invention is combined with a computer, which is hardware, and stored in a computer-readable recording medium to perform the method of generating a blood vessel model.

According to the present invention, a blood vessel path may be generated for a blood vessel portion (for example, a blood vessel portion which is not expressed in an accurate vessel form due to noise or is cut off in the middle due to noise), and also the vessel thickness By reflecting together can provide a more accurate three-dimensional blood vessel model.

According to the present invention, by detecting the branching points on the vascular path to determine the hierarchy and blood flow of the blood vessels.

According to the present invention, it is possible to perform a more precise surgical operation during the simulation by providing a hierarchy of blood vessels and blood flow.

Effects of the present invention are not limited to the effects mentioned above, and other effects not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description.

1 is a flowchart illustrating a method of generating a blood vessel model according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 and 3 are diagrams for explaining a process of extracting a normal vector from at least one polygon constituting a blood vessel according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a diagram illustrating a process of calculating a center point of a blood vessel according to an embodiment of the present invention.
5 and 6 are diagrams for explaining a process of generating a blood vessel path according to an embodiment of the present invention.
7 is a view schematically showing an example of the path of the blood vessel generated in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
8 is a diagram schematically illustrating a configuration of an apparatus 500 for performing a method of generating a blood vessel model according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Advantages and features of the present invention and methods for achieving them will be apparent with reference to the embodiments described below in detail with the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below, but can be embodied in various different forms, and the present embodiments only make the disclosure of the present invention complete, and those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention belongs. It is provided to fully inform the skilled worker of the scope of the invention, which is defined only by the scope of the claims.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. In this specification, the singular also includes the plural unless specifically stated otherwise in the phrase. As used herein, "comprises" and / or "comprising" does not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other components in addition to the mentioned components. Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout, and "and / or" includes each and all combinations of one or more of the mentioned components. Although "first", "second", etc. are used to describe various components, these components are of course not limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one component from another. Therefore, of course, the first component mentioned below may be a second component within the technical spirit of the present invention.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms used in the present specification (including technical and scientific terms) may be used in a sense that can be commonly understood by those skilled in the art. In addition, terms that are defined in a commonly used dictionary are not ideally or excessively interpreted unless they are specifically defined clearly.

As used herein, the term "part" or "module" refers to a hardware component such as software, FPGA, or ASIC, and the "part" or "module" plays certain roles. However, "part" or "module" is not meant to be limited to software or hardware. The “unit” or “module” may be configured to be in an addressable storage medium or may be configured to play one or more processors. Thus, as an example, a "part" or "module" may include components such as software components, object-oriented software components, class components, and task components, processes, functions, properties, Procedures, subroutines, segments of program code, drivers, firmware, microcode, circuitry, data, databases, data structures, tables, arrays, and variables. Functions provided within components and "parts" or "modules" may be combined into smaller numbers of components and "parts" or "modules" or into additional components and "parts" or "modules". Can be further separated.

As used herein, the term "computer" includes all the various devices capable of performing arithmetic processing to provide a result to a user. For example, a computer can be a desktop PC, a notebook, as well as a smartphone, a tablet PC, a cellular phone, a PCS phone (Personal Communication Service phone), synchronous / asynchronous The mobile terminal of the International Mobile Telecommunication-2000 (IMT-2000), a Palm Personal Computer (PC), a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), and the like may also be applicable. In addition, when a head mounted display (HMD) device includes a computing function, the HMD device may be a computer. Also, the computer may correspond to a server that receives a request from a client and performs information processing.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a flowchart illustrating a method of generating a blood vessel model according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Although the method of FIG. 1 is described as being performed by a computer for convenience of description, the subject of each step is not limited to a specific device but may be used to encompass a device capable of performing computing processing. That is, in the present embodiment, the computer may mean an apparatus capable of performing the method of generating a blood vessel model according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, in a method of generating a blood vessel model according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, obtaining at least one polygon constituting a blood vessel (S100) and a normal vector from each of the at least one polygon ) (S110), calculating a center point of blood vessels based on each normal vector (S120), and generating a path of blood vessels based on the center point of blood vessels (S130). Can be. Hereinafter, a detailed description of each step will be described.

The computer may acquire at least one polygon constituting the blood vessel (S100).

In one embodiment, the computer may generate a 3D blood vessel model based on medical image data of the inside of the body of the object (eg, the patient). Here, the medical image data is a medical image photographed by a medical image photographing apparatus and includes all medical images that can be implemented as a three-dimensional model of the body of the object. For example, the medical image data may include a computed tomography (CT) image, a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), a positron emission tomography (PET) image, and the like. The computer may extract the blood vessel of the patient from the medical image data and 3D model the extracted blood vessel. In an embodiment, the computer may sequentially extract arteries and veins from the medical image data, and 3D model and match the vessel models including the arteries and the vessel models including the veins, respectively. In this case, the blood vessel model may be a polygon model of 3D modeling by constructing at least one polygon of blood vessels extracted from the medical image data. Thus, the computer can obtain at least one polygon constituting the vessel from the 3D vessel model. Polygon refers to a polygon, which is the smallest unit used to express a three-dimensional shape of an object in 3D computer graphics, and polygons may be gathered to represent a 3D object (ie, a blood vessel).

In another embodiment, the computer may obtain a 3D blood vessel model pre-built for the subject and obtain at least one polygon constituting the blood vessel therefrom. In this case, the computer may construct and store the 3D blood vessel model in advance, or may acquire and use a 3D blood vessel model generated by another device.

Meanwhile, in the case of the 3D blood vessel model generated based on the medical image data, the blood vessel model is determined according to how accurately the blood vessels are captured and reflected in the medical image data, and how precisely the outline of the vessel can be extracted from the medical image data. Can affect implementation For example, when blood vessels are extracted from medical image data, but the blood vessels cannot be accurately expressed due to noise, blood vessels cannot be connected and a broken part occurs in the middle. There is a limit to using the vascular model. Accordingly, the blood vessel model generation method according to an embodiment of the present invention provides more accurate and accurate 3D blood vessel model by applying steps S100 to S130 to the 3D vessel model generated based on the medical image data.

The computer may extract a normal vector from each of the at least one polygon constituting the blood vessel obtained in step S100 (S110).

Here, the normal vector refers to a vector perpendicular to a curve or curved surface, and may refer to a polygon constituting a blood vessel surface or a vector perpendicular to an outward direction from a vertex of the polygon.

2 and 3 are diagrams for explaining a process of extracting a normal vector from at least one polygon constituting a blood vessel according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2, the computer may acquire at least one polygon 100 constituting the vessel surface in the 3D vessel model. In addition, the computer may extract the normal vector 110 from each of the at least one polygon 100. In this case, the normal vector 110 may be a vector perpendicular to the polygon 100 while facing outward from the blood vessel surface.

As an example, referring to FIG. 3A, the computer acquires a first polygon 200 constituting a blood vessel surface, and normals 210, 211, and 212 with respect to the vertex of the first polygon 200. ) Can be extracted. Polygons are composed of vertices, and at least three vertices can form a single polygon. Vertices may include position information (eg, (x, y, z) coordinate information) and vector values (eg, vector size). For example, when the first polygon 200 is a polygon made of a triangle, it may include three vertices. In this case, the computer may extract the normal vectors 210, 211, and 212 for each of the three vertices of the first polygon 200. In this case, the normal vectors 210, 211, and 212 may include location information and vector values, respectively.

In another embodiment, referring to FIG. 3B, the computer acquires a first polygon 200 constituting a blood vessel surface, and extracts a normal vector 220 for the surface of the first polygon 200. Can be. For example, the normal vector 220 for the surface of the first polygon 200 may use an average vector calculated based on the normal vector for each of three vertices of the first polygon 200. The average vector may be a normal vector calculated by averaging the vector values of the normal vectors for each of the three vertices.

In another embodiment, referring to FIG. 3C, the computer may acquire adjacent polygons constituting the blood vessel surface, and extract an average normal vector obtained by averaging normal vectors of adjacent polygons. In this case, the average normal vector may be an average normal vector 230, 231, 232, 233, or 234 for each vertex of adjacent polygons, or an average normal vector 240 for each surface of the adjacent polygons.

As described above, the computer extracts a normal vector from the polygon, but in accordance with an embodiment, the normal vector for the vertex of the polygon, the normal vector for the surface of the polygon, the average normal vector for the vertex of the polygon, and the average for the surface of the polygon. Any one of the normal vectors may be extracted as a normal vector of the polygon.

Hereinafter, for convenience of description, a case where the normal vector of the surface of the polygon is extracted will be described as an example. However, since each step according to an embodiment of the present invention may be repeatedly applied to each polygon and each normal vector, when one or more normal vectors are extracted from one polygon (that is, a normal vector for a vertex of a polygon, The same can be applied to the average normal vector for the vertices of the polygon and the average normal vector for the surface of the polygon).

Referring back to FIG. 1, the computer may calculate the center point of the blood vessel based on each of the normal vectors extracted from each of the at least one polygon (S120).

That is, the computer calculates the center point of the blood vessel for each polygon using the normal vector of each polygon. For example, the center point of the blood vessel with respect to the first polygon may be calculated based on the normal vector of the first polygon.

In one embodiment, the computer selects a polygon (eg, a first polygon) of one of the polygons that make up the vessel, and for a normal vector (eg, a first normal vector) of the selected polygon (eg, a first polygon) It is possible to detect the intersection point when extending in the opposite direction. The computer may calculate the center point of the vessel for the first polygon based on the intersection point and the first normal vector.

4 is a diagram illustrating a process of calculating a center point of a blood vessel according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 4 (a) is a view showing a cross-section perpendicular to the longitudinal direction (that is, the direction of blood flow) of the blood vessel formed in the form of a tube. Referring to FIG. 4A, each polygon constituting the blood vessel surface may include a normal vector perpendicular to the outward direction of the blood vessel surface.

In one embodiment, referring to FIG. 4B, the computer obtains a first normal vector 300 at the vertex P1 of the first polygon, and is located in the opposite direction of the first normal vector 300. The intersection point P2 may be detected in the polygon. For example, the computer may expand 310 the first normal vector 300 in the opposite direction and detect an intersection point P2 in the polygon that meets the expanded opposite direction vector 310. The computer may calculate the center point C from the vertex P1 and the intersection point P2 of the first polygon. For example, the computer uses the location information about the vertex P1 of the first polygon and the magnitude of the normal vector, and the location information of the intersection point P2 and the magnitude of the normal vector to determine the midpoint between the two vertices. Can be calculated as By repeating this process for each polygon obtained in the 3D blood vessel model, it is possible to derive all the center points of blood vessels for each polygon.

Referring back to FIG. 1, the computer may generate a path of the blood vessel based on the center point of the blood vessel calculated in step S120 (S130).

In other words, the computer can generate the vascular pathway in the 3D vascular model based on the center point of each vessel calculated from each polygon.

In an embodiment, the computer may obtain a plurality of adjacent polygons among at least one polygon constituting the blood vessel, and calculate an average center point based on the center points of the blood vessels for each of the plurality of adjacent polygons. The computer can then generate a route of the blood vessel based on the average center point for the plurality of adjacent polygons. A detailed description thereof will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6.

Depending on the embodiment, the computer may calculate the diameter of the vessel along with the center point of the vessel using the normal vector of each polygon. In this case, the computer may generate a path of the vessel based on the center point of the vessel and the diameter of the vessel. For example, the computer may reflect the diameter of the vessel in the vessel pathway generated based on the center point of the vessel.

In an embodiment, referring to FIG. 4B in calculating the diameter of a blood vessel, the computer obtains the first normal vector 300 at the vertex P1 of the first polygon, and calculates the first normal vector ( An intersection point P2 may be detected in a polygon located in an opposite direction of the 300. The computer may calculate the diameter of the blood vessel from the vertex P1 and the intersection point P2 of the first polygon. For example, the computer may calculate the distance between the vertex P1 and the intersection point P2 of the first polygon to use as the diameter of the blood vessel. In this case, the distance between two vertices may be calculated based on the size of the vector.

In some embodiments, the computer may calculate an average diameter based on the diameter of the blood vessel. In this case, the computer may generate a path of the blood vessel based on the average diameter along with the average center point calculated based on the center point of the blood vessel. A detailed description thereof will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6.

5 and 6 are diagrams for explaining a process of generating a blood vessel path according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a view illustrating a portion of the surface of a blood vessel, and illustrates an example of polygons constituting a portion of the surface of the vessel. FIG. 6 is a representation of the polygons shown in FIG. 5 in a data structure in the form of a graph.

In one embodiment, the computer may obtain adjacent polygons adjacent to each other among the polygons constituting the blood vessel. For example, referring to FIG. 5, adjacent polygons for A polygon may be A, B, C, D polygons, and adjacent polygons for F polygon may be F, H, E, G polygons. The 3D blood vessel model may be represented using an array of polygons constituting blood vessels and an array of vertices constituting each polygon. Thus, using such an array of polygons and an array of vertices can identify adjacent polygons that are adjacent to each other. For example, the computer may extract A polygons from the polygon array and then obtain polygons B, C, D that share at least two vertices with the vertices of the A polygon from the vertex array. That is, when each polygon shares two or more vertices with each other (ie, shares an edge), the polygons A, B, C, and D may be determined to be adjacent to each other. In this manner, E, F, G, and H polygons may also be determined as adjacent polygons adjacent to each other.

At this time, the polygons constituting the blood vessel as shown in FIG. 5 may be implemented as a data structure in the form of a graph. For example, each polygon may be represented by one node and may be represented by connecting nodes adjacent to one node by a graph. Referring to FIG. 6, the A polygon may be represented by an A node in the graph, and the B, C, and D polygons adjacent to the A polygon may be connected and represented by the B, C, and D nodes connected to the A node. In addition, since the B polygon is adjacent to the E polygon, the B node and the E node may be connected to each other and represented. In this way, all polygons can be represented graphically based on their connections. Thus, the computer determines that nodes A, B, C, and D are adjacent to each other (ie, adjacent polygons) through the graph, and nodes where E, F, G, and H nodes are adjacent to each other (ie, adjacent polygons). Can be judged.

The computer may acquire adjacent polygons in the manner as described above, and calculate an average center point of the obtained adjacent polygons. For example, the computer may average the vessel center point of each of the adjacent polygons A, B, C, D, and calculate this average value as the mean center point. The average value may be average location information (ie, coordinate information) averaged using location information of each of the adjacent polygons A, B, C, and D.

Here, in calculating the average center point by acquiring the adjacent polygons, the computer repeatedly acquires the adjacent polygons adjacent to each other by using a graph-like data structure showing the overall structure of the polygons to the entire polygons constituting the blood vessel. The mean center point can be calculated. For example, the computer obtains adjacent nodes B, C, and D based on node A in a graph showing the overall structure of polygons, and averages (i.e., from the vessel center points of each node for the obtained A, B, C, and D nodes). Average center point) can be calculated. Next, the computer can move to node B in a graph showing the overall structure of the polygons. In this case, since the B node has already been extracted to an adjacent node of the A node to calculate an average center value, the B node may move to any one node (eg, F node) adjacent to the B node. The computer may calculate neighboring nodes (eg, H, E, G nodes) again at the moved node (eg F node) to calculate the mean center point. That is, the computer proceeds with this process for all polygons, and then for neighbor nodes (e.g., A, B, C, D nodes) again adjacent nodes (e.g., E, F, G, H node) can be merged into one adjacent node (eg, A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H node) to calculate the mean center point from the center point of each of these vessels. The computer can repeat this process for the entire polygon.

In this case, the number of repetitions of all the polygons may be determined by the number of total polygons constituting the blood vessel, the size of one polygon, and the physical size of one polygon in comparison to the size of the entire blood vessel. That is, the computer may repeat the process of calculating the average center point for the adjacent polygons in the same manner as described above until a meaningful vessel path is derived.

In addition, according to an embodiment of the present invention, as described above, the computer may calculate the average diameter based on the diameter of the blood vessel. In one embodiment, the computer may obtain a plurality of adjacent polygons adjacent to each other among the polygons constituting the blood vessel. The computer may calculate an average value by averaging the diameters of blood vessels for each of the plurality of adjacent polygons, and derive the calculated average value as the average diameter of the plurality of adjacent polygons. In this case, each step (ie, obtaining a plurality of adjacent polygons and calculating an average diameter from the plurality of adjacent polygons) may be applied in the same manner as described above with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6, and thus, a detailed description thereof will be omitted. Do it.

That is, the computer can generate a final vascular pathway based on the average center point and the average diameter calculated from the plurality of adjacent polygons.

7 is a view schematically showing an example of the path of the blood vessel generated in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 7, the computer may generate the vessel path 400 by calculating the center point of the vessel from each polygon. In this case, the computer may generate a meaningful blood vessel path 410 by repeating a process of calculating an average center point of the blood vessel center points from a plurality of adjacent polygons. In other words, the computer can derive a more precise vessel path by correcting the vessel path based on the average center point for a plurality of adjacent polygons while maintaining the connectivity of the vessel center point for each polygon.

The computer can also calculate the diameter of the vessel from each polygon and reflect it in the vessel path 400. In addition, the computer may repeat the process of calculating the average diameter with respect to the diameter of the blood vessel from a plurality of adjacent polygons, and reflect the average diameter calculated therefrom to generate a meaningful blood vessel path 410. .

The computer can finally build the 3D vessel model by three-dimensional rendering the vessel's path 410 and the vessel's diameter.

According to an embodiment of the present invention as described above, the portion of the blood vessel that is not accurately implemented in the initial 3D vessel model generated using the medical image data (for example, the portion of the blood vessel that is not represented in the exact vessel shape due to noise or broken in the middle) Etc.) to compensate for this. In other words, it is possible to generate a blood vessel path for a portion of a blood vessel that is not accurately implemented, and also provide a more accurate 3D blood vessel model by expressing the diameter of the blood vessel along with the blood vessel path.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the computer may identify branch points on the vessel path based on the average center point calculated from the plurality of adjacent polygons. In an embodiment, the computer may compare the average center point calculated from the plurality of adjacent polygons with a predetermined value to determine whether the point corresponding to the average center point is a branch point on the path of the blood vessel. For example, the computer may determine the branch point if the vector value at the mean center point is larger than the predetermined value. Here, the predetermined value may use the normal vector size of the polygon. Thereafter, the computer may branch the path of the blood vessel based on the branch point according to the determination result. The computer may also assign a vessel name to a branched vessel path based on the branch point. For example, the computer may specify vessel names for branched vessel pathways based on anatomical vessel distribution.

In addition, in an embodiment of the present invention, the computer may derive a hierarchical structure for the path of the blood vessel based on the branch point. For example, the computer can derive the overall vascular structure by creating a vascular pathway branched from the bifurcation on the entire vascular pathway and naming the vascular pathway for each vascular pathway.

In addition, in an embodiment of the present invention, the computer may derive the flow direction of the blood flow on the path of the blood vessel. In one embodiment, the computer may determine the flow direction of the blood flow based on the size of the normal vector extracted from each polygon. For example, the computer may compare the magnitude of the normal vector of the first polygon with the magnitude of the normal vector of the second polygon, and determine that blood flows in a path connecting the magnitude of the normal vector from a large value to a small value.

According to the embodiment of the present invention as described above, the 3D vessel model can be constructed by accurately deriving the vessel path and the vessel diameter (that is, the vessel thickness), and further, the hierarchy of the vessel path based on the branching point of the vessel. The structure and blood flow can be identified. Therefore, in the 3D blood vessel model according to the embodiment of the present invention, since the correlation and geometric information of blood vessels can be accurately understood, more precise surgical operation can be designated when the simulation is performed by using the same. For example, when performing a simulation using the 3D blood vessel model according to an embodiment of the present invention, when the medical staff already cuts the upper end of the blood vessel and then cuts the lower end again, the operation of cutting the lower end may be determined as unnecessary. This information can also be provided to medical personnel. In addition, since the thickness of blood vessels can be determined through the 3D blood vessel model, the optimal size of a clip for tying a specific blood vessel can be informed when performing the operation of tying a specific blood vessel in a simulation using the 3D blood vessel model.

8 is a diagram schematically illustrating a configuration of an apparatus 500 for performing a method of generating a blood vessel model according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 8, the processor 510 may include a connection passage (for example, a bus or the like) that transmits and receives signals with one or more cores (not shown) and a graphics processor (not shown) and / or other components. ) May be included.

The processor 510 according to an embodiment executes one or more instructions stored in the memory 520 to perform the blood vessel model generation method described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 7.

For example, the processor 510 obtains at least one polygon constituting the vessel by executing one or more instructions stored in the memory 520, and extracts a normal vector from each of the at least one polygon. The center point of the vessel may be calculated based on each normal vector, and a path of the vessel may be generated based on the center point of the vessel.

Meanwhile, the processor 510 may include random access memory (RAM) and read-only memory (ROM) for temporarily and / or permanently storing a signal (or data) processed in the processor 510. , Not shown) may be further included. In addition, the processor 510 may be implemented in the form of a system on chip (SoC) including at least one of a graphic processor, a RAM, and a ROM.

The memory 520 may store programs (one or more instructions) for processing and controlling the processor 510. Programs stored in the memory 520 may be divided into a plurality of modules according to their functions.

The blood vessel model generation method according to an embodiment of the present invention described above may be implemented as a program (or an application) and stored in a medium to be executed in combination with a computer which is hardware.

The above-described program includes C, C ++, JAVA, machine language, etc. which can be read by the computer's processor (CPU) through the computer's device interface so that the computer reads the program and executes the methods implemented as the program. Code may be coded in the computer language of. Such code may include functional code associated with a function or the like that defines the necessary functions for executing the methods, and includes control procedures related to execution procedures necessary for the computer's processor to execute the functions according to a predetermined procedure. can do. In addition, the code may further include memory reference code for additional information or media required for the computer's processor to execute the functions at which location (address address) of the computer's internal or external memory should be referenced. have. Also, if the processor of the computer needs to communicate with any other computer or server remotely in order to execute the functions, the code may be used to communicate with any other computer or server remotely using the communication module of the computer. It may further include a communication related code for whether to communicate, what information or media should be transmitted and received during communication.

The stored medium is not a medium for storing data for a short time such as a register, a cache, a memory, but semi-permanently, and means a medium that can be read by the device. Specifically, examples of the storage medium include, but are not limited to, a ROM, a RAM, a CD-ROM, a magnetic tape, a floppy disk, an optical data storage device, and the like. That is, the program may be stored in various recording media on various servers to which the computer can access or various recording media on the computer of the user. The media may also be distributed over network coupled computer systems so that the computer readable code is stored in a distributed fashion.

The steps of a method or algorithm described in connection with an embodiment of the present invention may be implemented directly in hardware, in a software module executed by hardware, or by a combination thereof. Software modules may include random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), erasable programmable ROM (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), flash memory, hard disk, removable disk, CD-ROM, or It may reside in any form of computer readable recording medium well known in the art.

In the above, embodiments of the present invention have been described with reference to the accompanying drawings, but those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains may implement the present invention in other specific forms without changing the technical spirit or essential features. I can understand that. Therefore, it should be understood that the embodiments described above are exemplary in all respects and not restrictive.

Claims (10)

In the computer generated blood vessel model generation method,
Obtaining at least one polygon constituting the blood vessel;
Extracting a normal vector from each of the at least one polygon;
Calculating a center point of the blood vessel based on each normal vector; And
Generating a path of the blood vessel based on the center point of the blood vessel,
Generating a path of the blood vessel,
Comprising the step of calculating the diameter of the blood vessel to the path of the blood vessel,
Reflecting in the path of the blood vessel,
Obtaining a plurality of contiguous adjacent polygons among the at least one polygon;
Calculating an average diameter based on the diameter of the blood vessel for each of the plurality of adjacent polygons; And
And reflecting in the path of the blood vessel based on the average diameter of the plurality of adjacent polygons. The method of claim 1,
Calculating the center point of the blood vessel,
For each normal vector, obtaining a polygon located in an opposite direction of the normal vector, and detecting an intersection point where the polygon located in the opposite direction meets the opposite direction vector of the normal vector; And
And calculating a center point of the blood vessel based on the intersection point and the normal vector. The method of claim 2,
Generating a path of the blood vessel,
Obtaining a plurality of contiguous adjacent polygons among the at least one polygon;
Calculating an average center point based on the center point of the blood vessel for each of the plurality of adjacent polygons; And
Generating a path of the blood vessel based on an average center point for the plurality of adjacent polygons. The method of claim 2,
The diameter of the blood vessel,
The blood vessel model generation method characterized in that it is calculated based on the intersection point and the normal vector. delete The method of claim 3,
Comparing the average center point with a predetermined value to determine whether the mean center point is a branch point on the path of the blood vessel; And
And branching the path of the blood vessel based on the branch point according to the determination result. The method of claim 6,
And deriving a hierarchical structure of the path of the blood vessel based on the branch point. The method of claim 1,
And deriving a flow direction of blood flow on the path of the blood vessel based on the size of each normal vector. Memory for storing one or more instructions; And
A processor for executing the one or more instructions stored in the memory,
The processor executes the one or more instructions,
Obtaining at least one polygon constituting the blood vessel;
Extracting a normal vector from each of the at least one polygon;
Calculating a center point of the blood vessel based on each normal vector; And
Generating a path of the blood vessel based on the center point of the blood vessel,
Generating a path of the blood vessel,
Comprising the step of calculating the diameter of the blood vessel to the path of the blood vessel,
Reflecting in the path of the blood vessel,
Obtaining a plurality of contiguous adjacent polygons among the at least one polygon;
Calculating an average diameter based on the diameter of the blood vessel for each of the plurality of adjacent polygons; And
And reflecting in the path of the blood vessel based on an average diameter of the plurality of adjacent polygons. A computer program, coupled to a computer, which is hardware, stored on a recording medium readable by a computer so as to perform the method of claim 1.

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