Fully automatic extraction of panoramic dental images from CT-scan volumetric data of the head

Abstract

In this study, a fully automatic technique is proposed for the extraction of panoramic dental images from CT-scan images of the teeth. The process is performed in three steps: Mandibular region isolation, mandibular curve creation and panoramic image extraction. First the mandibular region is isolated. To do this the maxilla and mandible are separated from each other by finding the slice separating them. Then an image of the maximum intensity projection of the slices containing the mandible is obtained. The projection of the mandible is then isolated from the other bones. Using the isolated mandible region an initial curve is created. Nine control points are then selected on the curve. These control points are used to create a fine curve using cubic splines. The formula for each spline segment is used to find the perpendicular lines to the spline on each point on the spline. These perpendicular lines are then used in all slices (mandible and maxilla) to create the panoramic images. The algorithm has many advantages over earlier methods. Results using multiple datasets have shown that the algorithm is robust. © 2009 Asian Network for Scientific Information.