TY - GEN A1 - Ehlke, Moritz A1 - Ramm, Heiko A1 - Lamecker, Hans A1 - Hege, Hans-Christian A1 - Zachow, Stefan T1 - Fast Generation of Virtual X-ray Images from Deformable Tetrahedral Meshes N2 - We propose a novel GPU-based approach to render virtual X-ray projections of deformable tetrahedral meshes. These meshes represent the shape and the internal density distribution of a particular anatomical structure and are derived from statistical shape and intensity models (SSIMs). We apply our method to improve the geometric reconstruction of 3D anatomy (e.g.\ pelvic bone) from 2D X-ray images. For that purpose, shape and density of a tetrahedral mesh are varied and virtual X-ray projections are generated within an optimization process until the similarity between the computed virtual X-ray and the respective anatomy depicted in a given clinical X-ray is maximized. The OpenGL implementation presented in this work deforms and projects tetrahedral meshes of high resolution (200.000+ tetrahedra) at interactive rates. It generates virtual X-rays that accurately depict the density distribution of an anatomy of interest. Compared to existing methods that accumulate X-ray attenuation in deformable meshes, our novel approach significantly boosts the deformation/projection performance. The proposed projection algorithm scales better with respect to mesh resolution and complexity of the density distribution, and the combined deformation and projection on the GPU scales better with respect to the number of deformation parameters. The gain in performance allows for a larger number of cycles in the optimization process. Consequently, it reduces the risk of being stuck in a local optimum. We believe that our approach contributes in orthopedic surgery, where 3D anatomy information needs to be extracted from 2D X-rays to support surgeons in better planning joint replacements. T3 - ZIB-Report - 13-38 KW - digitally reconstructed radiographs KW - volume rendering KW - mesh deformation KW - statistical shape and intensity models KW - image registration KW - GPU acceleration Y1 - 2013 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-41896 SN - 1438-0064 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Dercksen, Vincent J. A1 - Hege, Hans-Christian A1 - Oberlaender, Marcel T1 - The Filament Editor: An Interactive Software Environment for Visualization, Proof-Editing and Analysis of 3D Neuron Morphology N2 - Neuroanatomical analysis, such as classification of cell types, depends on reliable reconstruction of large numbers of complete 3D dendrite and axon morphologies. At present, the majority of neuron reconstructions are obtained from preparations in a single tissue slice in vitro, thus suffering from cut off dendrites and, more dramatically, cut off axons. In general, axons can innervate volumes of several cubic millimeters and may reach path lengths of tens of centimeters. Thus, their complete reconstruction requires in vivo labeling, histological sectioning and imaging of large fields of view. Unfortunately, anisotropic background conditions across such large tissue volumes, as well as faintly labeled thin neurites, result in incomplete or erroneous automated tracings and even lead experts to make annotation errors during manual reconstructions. Consequently, tracing reliability renders the major bottleneck for reconstructing complete 3D neuron morphologies. Here, we present a novel set of tools, integrated into a software environment named ‘Filament Editor’, for creating reliable neuron tracings from sparsely labeled in vivo datasets. The Filament Editor allows for simultaneous visualization of complex neuronal tracings and image data in a 3D viewer, proof-editing of neuronal tracings, alignment and interconnection across sections, and morphometric analysis in relation to 3D anatomical reference structures. We illustrate the functionality of the Filament Editor on the example of in vivo labeled axons and demonstrate that for the exemplary dataset the final tracing results after proof-editing are independent of the expertise of the human operator. T3 - ZIB-Report - 13-75 Y1 - 2013 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-43157 SN - 1438-0064 ER -