In vitro 3D reconstruction of long bones using B-scan image processing.

An echographic image processing method has been developed, and validated by in vitro experiments, for the 3D reconstruction of the long bones of the newborn. The reconstruction of successive parallel cross-sections is obtained by a 2D reconstruction technique using radial B-scan image processing. The automatic segmentation of all the calculated images allows the extraction of the external contours of the skeleton. After structuring the explored volume using a contour association method, a contour interpolation step is required to solve the anisotropy problem, to obtain a 3D representation with cubic voxel lists. The results are encouraging, and a new mechanical part prototype of the acquisition system is under test for in vivo experiments. The main originality of the paper lies in the combination of different steps to obtain a practical solution to a clinical problem.