3D femur reconstruction using a robotized ultrasound probe

Three-dimensional reconstruction of images is a fundamental procedure in medical imaging because it allows to build virtual models of anatomical units of the human body, useful in several areas, such as in surgical navigation. This paper presents a non freehand Ultrasound acquisition system for human femur reconstruction where the probe displacement and position are accurately controlled by an anthropomorphic arm robot. The aim of this system is to acquire a sequence of 2D parallel cross-sections evenly spaced along the displacement direction in order to perform an accurate 3D reconstruction of the femur to be used in the scope of computer-assisted orthopedic surgery. Here, the system is described as well as the image processing and calibration procedures implemented. Results with real data are presented to illustrate the operation of the system.