3D Point cloud model of human bio form created by the application of geometric morphometrics and method of anatomical features: Human tibia example

Abstract

Morphometrics refers to the quantitative analysis of a biological form and it can be used to describe its shape. Common types of geometric morphometrics are Landmark-based Geometric Morphometrics which describe shape by using anatomical landmarks (e.g. points), and Outline-based geometric morphometrics which uses envelope curves to describe shape of the biological form (e.g. bone), and they are not absolutely exclusive. Geometric morphometrics can be used for the creation of statistical models which represent shape variation of specific bio form. In this paper, novel application of geometric morphometrics for the creation of personalized models of unique bio-forms, i.e. models which are created for the specific patient is presented. Personalized model is defined as 3D point cloud model of biological form (in this case human tibia). Positions of points in 3D space are determined by using set of parametric functions defined by applying geometrical morphometrics, morphology properties and statistical analysis on the input set of human tibia samples. By using this technique, anatomically correct and geometrically accurate personalized models of bio forms can be created and used in pre, intra, and post-operative procedures in clinical practice.