3-D acquisition and quantitative measurements of anatomical parts by optical scanning and image reconstruction from unorganized range data

A simple method for direct acquisition of a cloud of points from an object surface is presented together with a novel surface reconstruction algorithm used to obtain an explicit three-dimensional (3-D) model for the measured object. This technique is aimed at relatively accurate but simple and reliable 3-D reconstruction of anatomical parts for biomedical applications. A prototype 3-D scanning system is presented: the physical acquisition system and the image reconstruction algorithm are described. Measurements on objects of well-known geometrical features and dimensions are performed in order to assess accuracy and repeatability levels of this 3-D acquisition system. Robustness to noise of the proposed reconstruction algorithm is determined by simulation with synthetic test surfaces. Finally, the first measurements (acquisition + reconstruction) of closed surfaces from human organs are reported.