Development and Evaluation of an Image-Based Method for Measuring Kinematic Geometry of Scoliotic Spine
Date Issued
2015
Date
2015
Author(s)
Chiao, Po-Wei
Abstract
Scoliosis has been known as a complex three dimensional spinal deformity and recognized as the most common spinal disorder in adolescents. Abnormal spinal deformity will not only change the physical appearance, but may also cause problems such as central and/or peripheral spinal nerve compression, muscle pain and weakness, and oppression lung that may lead to cardiopulmonary dysfunction. X-ray imaging serves as the ‘gold standard’ for the evaluation of spinal deformities or structural vertebral disorders, this method of assessment does not account for three-dimensional changes in the spine and may expose patients to ionizing radiation which has been shown to increase the risk of developing several types of cancers, including breast and thyroid cancers. Recently, raster stereography has established as an accurate and reliable technique for analyzing the shape of the back and for reconstructing spinal deformities. The method applies a system of parallel light lines projected onto the back surface. From the distortion of the raster lines, the 3D shape of the surface can be reconstructed. However, measurement the change of the spinal axial rotation is not accurate and the validity is not evaluated by experiment. Therefore, the goal of this study is to develop a three-dimensional and non-radiating measurement method for spinal geometrical kinematics based on raster stereography. In our study, we used two cameras and one projector to reconstruct the back surface from the distortion line that projected onto the back surface. The curvature of the back were calculated and provide information to reconstruct the spinous process line. The axial rotation in the spine was calculated from the asymmetric of the back surface. 12 subjects with scoliosis were participated in our study. Each subjects were examined in supine posture in computed tomography photography and two subjects were examined in the method that developed in this study. To evaluate the accuracy of the measurement of spinal geometrical kinematics, the reconstruction of the spine from computed tomography was served as golden standard. In the future, the method we develop will help scoliosis assessment, diagnosis, treatment, and long-term tracking without exposing to high level of radiation dose. Thus, the application of our method is helpful for the progress in the fields of orthopedic, rehabilitation, physical therapy, occupational therapy and medical imaging.
Subjects
scoliosis
raster stereography
spinal geometrical kinematics
computed tomography
SDGs
Type
thesis