Thoracic Burst Fracture Tumor Project
My project at the Barrow Neurological Institute was to replicate a patient's CT data and the tumors within. This was done with the purpose to later be used in mixed reality in the combination of a VR headset and 3D printed model to teach medical residents different surgical techniques while minimizing risk and stress to both patients and residents.
Potential Application
At the highlighted C6 you can see the deformity the burst fracture tumor caused the patient. Residents will be able to use this model to practice the application of pedicle screws to better stabilize the spine.
ZBrush
In ZBrush I cleaned up the edges as much as possible. This being my first time using ZBrush, it took me more time to figure out how to balance keeping the anatomy correct, and smoothing out the misinterpreted anatomy. I focused on the vertebrae as that was the focus of my overall project.
3D Slicer
To speed up the process of segmenting anatomy through each individual DICOM slice, I found an AI program called Total Segmentator to help. Once it was finished segmenting I would go through the anatomy to make sure none of the edges were lost. Creating segmentations is creating separate 3D models that can be brought into ZBrush and further manipulated.