Reconstruction of brain tissue surface based on three-dimensional Tl-weighted MRI images

Three-dimensional (3D) T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is an important technique for accurate localization and evaluation of brain tumors. A fast-forming technique was proposed in this study based on 3D MRI and 3D printing to generate a physical 3D model that might help improve the neurosurgery planning for brain tumors. In this paper, a brain tissue segmentation and reconstruction method is presented using the unified segmentation algorithm and 3D interpolation. Results showed that the quality of the 3D brain tissue reconstruction was acceptable and linear interpolation of the 3D model improved the visualization of the brain surface morphology. We conclude that image segmentation and reconstruction of brain tissue based on the 3D T1-weighted MRI is feasible for fast 3D prototyping and it may help neurosurgeons for the surgery planning.