An algorithm for automatically generating gas, bone and foreign body visualizations from postmortem computed tomography data.
Post mortem computed tomography (PMCT) can aid in localizing foreign bodies, bone fractures, and gas accumulations. The visualization of these findings play an important role in the communication of radiological findings. In this article, we present an algorithm for automated visualization of gas distributions on PMCT image data of the thorax and abdomen. The algorithm uses a combination of region growing segmentation and layering of different visualization methods to automatically generate overview images that depict radiopaque foreign bodies, bones and gas distributions in one image. The presented method was tested on 955 PMCT scans of the thorax and abdomen. The algorithm managed to generate useful images for all cases, visualizing foreign bodies as well as gas distribution. The most interesting cases are presented in this article. While this type of visualization cannot replace a real radiological analysis of the image data, it can provide a quick overview for briefings and image reports.
['Ebert|Lars C|LC|http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8215-7006', 'Seckiner|Dilan|D|', 'Sieberth|Till|T|', 'Thali|Michael J|MJ|', 'Franckenberg|Sabine|S|']
D000465:Algorithms D001344:Autopsy D001842:Bone and Bones D005547:Foreign Bodies D049429:Forensic Pathology D050723:Fractures, Bone D005740:Gases D006801:Humans D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed
Visualization PMCT Maximum intensity projection Minimum intensity projection Virtopsy