3-DIMENSIONAL RECONSTRUCTION OF THE BILIARY-TRACT FROM 2-DIMENSIONAL BILIARY IMAGES

To make conventinal two-dimensional cholangiography easier and more pr ecise to read, we used techniques in computer vision to reconstruct th e images in three dimensions, A 72-year-old man and a 70-year-old woma n suffering from acute cholangitis were treated using endoscopic nasob iliary drainage, Their cholangiograms, from two orthogonal views, were used for three-dimensional reconstruction, We used video image grabbe r and film scanner methods to digitize the original conventional bilia ry radiographs, and applied two different image processing methods to show the biliary structure, Both methods of three-dimensional reconstr uction of the biliary tract were highly useful in evaluating the bilia ry tracts in these two patients, especially when a semi-translucence o verlapping display technique was applied in the second patient, With t his technique, the biliary tree itself and the stones inside the commo n bile duct can be clearly delineated, The technique of three-dimensio nal reconstruction of biliary images can make the conventional cholang iographs more lifelike and has great potential in surgical simulation in the near future.