Development and validation of a generic 3D model of the distal femur

Abstract

The development and validation of a virtual generic 3D model of the distal femur using computer graphical methods is presented. The synthesis of the generic model requires the following steps: acquisition of bony 3D morphology using standard CT (computed tomography) imaging; alignment of 3D models reconstructed from CT images with a common coordinate system; computer graphical sectioning of the models; extraction of bone contours from the image sections; combining and averaging of extracted contours; and 3D reconstruction of the averaged contours.
The generic models reconstructed from the averaged contours of six cadaver femora were validated by comparing their surface geometry on a point to point basis with that of the CT reconstructed reference models. The mean errors ranged from 0.99 - 2.5 mm and were in agreement with the qualitative assessment of the models.