Virtual colon unfolding for polyp detection

Abstract

Virtual colon unfolding is a promising technique to facilitate clinical diagnosis of colorectal polyps. The complete unfolded view of the surface enables the surgeon to perform diagnosis on the whole colon at a glance. This greatly enhances inspection efficiency. In this project, a virtual colonoscopy system is proposed, which provides virtual fly-through and unfolding. Algorithms for the intermediate modules, including segmentation, medial axis extraction and surface unfolding, are customized and fine tuned to form the complete system. Several experiments using colon CT images are carried out, with the results proving the effectiveness of the system. Additional pathology is simulated to test the algorithm of surface unfolding. The experiment results verify the ability of the system to detect polyps larger than 1cm, which are clinically significant.