Logo image
Automatic construction of subject-specific human airway geometry including trifurcations based on a CT-segmented airway skeleton and surface
Journal article   Peer reviewed

Automatic construction of subject-specific human airway geometry including trifurcations based on a CT-segmented airway skeleton and surface

Shinjiro Miyawaki, Merryn H Tawhai, Eric A Hoffman, Sally E Wenzel and Ching-Long Lin
Biomechanics and modeling in mechanobiology, Vol.16(2), pp.583-596
04/2017
DOI: 10.1007/s10237-016-0838-6
PMCID: PMC5352464
PMID: 27704229
url
http://doi.org/10.1007/s10237-016-0838-6View
Open Access

Abstract

We propose a method to construct three-dimensional airway geometric models based on airway skeletons, or centerlines (CLs). Given a CT-segmented airway skeleton and surface, the proposed CL-based method automatically constructs subject-specific models that contain anatomical information regarding branches, include bifurcations and trifurcations, and extend from the trachea to terminal bronchioles. The resulting model can be anatomically realistic with the assistance of an image-based surface; alternatively a model with an idealized skeleton and/or branch diameters is also possible. This method systematically identifies and classifies trifurcations to successfully construct the models, which also provides the number and type of trifurcations for the analysis of the airways from an anatomical point of view. We applied this method to 16 normal and 16 severe asthmatic subjects using their computed tomography images. The average distance between the surface of the model and the image-based surface was 11 % of the average voxel size of the image. The four most frequent locations of trifurcations were the left upper division bronchus, left lower lobar bronchus, right upper lobar bronchus, and right intermediate bronchus. The proposed method automatically constructed accurate subject-specific three-dimensional airway geometric models that contain anatomical information regarding branches using airway skeleton, diameters, and image-based surface geometry. The proposed method can construct (i) geometry automatically for population-based studies, (ii) trifurcations to retain the original airway topology, (iii) geometry that can be used for automatic generation of computational fluid dynamics meshes, and (iv) geometry based only on a skeleton and diameters for idealized branches.
Models, Biological Humans Tomography, X-Ray Computed Lung - diagnostic imaging Trachea - diagnostic imaging Asthma - diagnostic imaging Lung - anatomy & histology Precision Medicine Trachea - anatomy & histology

Details

Metrics

Logo image