5 Top Tips to Speed Up Segmentation of Cardiovascular and Orthopedics Image Data in Simpleware Software

Posted on 29 October 2018 by Tim Williams

When processing cardiovascular and orthopedics scan data from MRI and CT, the segmentation process can be very time consuming. The quality of the scan data often makes it hard to identify important regions of interest, while final models exported to applications like finite element (FE) simulation or 3D printing may not be robust and require more work before they can be used.

Simpleware™ medical image segmentation software offers solutions for these problems through common workflows. What, then, are five key methods that can help in accelerating the segmentation of cardiovascular and orthopedics data to get the best models?

Manual segmentation can be a time drainer when working with complex medical data in 2D and 3D views. In Simpleware software, a number of intuitive tools are available to quickly segment your image data. For example, if looking at a hip, thresholding can be used to isolate bones, with options for using CT pre-sets to speed up workflows. Other semi-automated tools like flood fill allow connected regions to be segmented into different image masks. The split regions tool can be used to quickly separate neighboring bones and the morphological close filter can be used to close any remaining gaps.

The 3D editing tools in Simpleware software give you more control over segmenting orthopedic data. There are many ways to manipulate image data, including the use of the 3D editing tool to identify specific regions of your model and apply filters to them locally, such as smoothing on parts of bone. For complex cardiovascular data, such as arteries, it is also straightforward to apply smoothing filters and remove any unwanted parts with intuitive shape-based drawing directly on your 3D model.

CT data presents particular challenges for segmenting muscles using threshold tools due to low contrast results. To reduce time-consuming manual segmentation, the interpolation toolbox in Simpleware allows you to combine 3D painting of scan data with a quick interpolation of the results to obtain the profile of the muscle. Similarly, with MRI data that is low-contrast, you can paint on a selection of slices in each view – a 3D wrap filter then creates a mask rather than having to paint on every single slice of the image data.

It can be difficult to work with artery walls when segmenting cardiovascular data. Simpleware software solves this problem by creating artificial walls using image processing tools. Morphological filters and Boolean operations make it possible to create an effective wall for blood flow analysis. This approach significantly cuts down on the time spent working with cardiovascular data to get usable results, and enables a high level of detail and accuracy to be achieved without compromising the original geometry of the scan.

Simpleware software can be augmented for specific workflows with small scripts. Scripting and customization options in the software can be useful to cut down on manual work. For example, if you are working with many similar datasets, scripting can often be utilized to automate repetitive tasks and reduce time of the segmentation.

We hope these tips provide a good introduction to some of the tools available in Simpleware software to quickly segment orthopedics and cardiovascular data. For more details, check out our recorded web workshop on this subject: