Method and device to simulate, visualize and compare surface models
AssigneeQuantifiCare
InventorJean Philippe Thirion
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method and device to simulate, visualize and compare 3D surfaces Method and device to visualize a composition of two matched surface models (M1) and (M2) in order to privilege the visualization of the silhouette of the second representation (R2) of the second surface model (M2), that is, the surface elements which are the most tangent to the viewing direction defined by the optical center (C) of a virtual camera and the point (P) of the surface of the second surface model (M2) considered, and to visualize it by transparency on top of the first surface model (M1). The disclosure is intended in particular to compare anatomical subjects before and after simulation or surgical or aesthetic procedures.
Claims11
A method to represent via a virtual camera (C) at least two surface models (M1) and (M2) in three dimensions, corresponding to surfaces of a subject (S) wherein:
- a first surface model (M1) is represented via a first rendering method (R1), and
- a second surface model (M2) is represented via a second rendering method (R2) privileging for its intensity parts of the second surface model (M2) whose surface normals are perpendicular to the viewing direction, and
- the first and second rendered surface models (R1) and (R2) are merged using a merging function (MER) in order to provide a comprehensive representation (R12) with a single image of the two surface models (M1) and (M2) and
- the merging function (MER) is merging, for a point (P) of the comprehensive representation (R12), a first intensity (I1) obtained by applying the first rendering (R1) to the first surface model (M1) and a second intensity (I2) obtained by applying the second rendering (R2) to the second surface model (M2), such that if alpha is a normalization of the second intensity (I2) then the final rendering at that point (P) is one unit minus alpha, multiplied by the first intensity (I1), to which it is added a fixed color value multiplied by alpha, this fixed color value being possibly white and
- the intensity produced by the second rendering method (R2) is proportional to the difference between one unit and the absolute value of the cosine of the angle between the direction of a surface normal (N) at a point (P) of the second surface model (M2) and the viewing direction (CP) going from the center of the optics of the virtual camera (C) and toward the point (P) of the surface of the second model (M2).
A device implementing a method to represent via a virtual camera (C) at least two surface models (M1) and (M2) in three dimensions, corresponding to surfaces of a subject (S) wherein:
- a first surface model (M1) is represented via a first conventional rendering method (R1), and
- a second surface model (M2) is represented via a second rendering method (R2) privileging for its intensity parts of the second surface model (M2) whose surface normals are perpendicular to the viewing direction, and
- the first and second rendered surface models (R1) and (R2) are merged using a merging function (MER) in order to provide a comprehensive representation (R12) with a single image of the two surface models (M1) and (M2) and
- the merging function (MER) is merging, for a point (P) of the comprehensive representation (R12), a first intensity (I1) obtained by applying the first rendering (R1) to the first surface model (M1) and a second intensity (I2) obtained by applying the second rendering (R2) to the second surface model (M2), such that if alpha is a normalization of the second intensity (I2) then the final rendering at that point (P) is one unit minus alpha, multiplied by the first intensity (I1), to which it is added a fixed color value multiplied by alpha, this fixed color value being possibly white and
- the intensity produced by the second rendering method (R2) is proportional to the difference between one unit and the absolute value of the cosine of the angle between the direction of a surface normal (N) at a point (P) of the second surface model (M2) and the viewing direction (CP) going from the center of the optics of the virtual camera (C) and toward the point (P) of the surface of the second model (M2), and the device comprising further:
- A system to acquire in three dimensions at least one surface representation of a subject (S), and,
- An image visualization system to display a comprehensive representation (R12) of at least two surface models (M1) and (M2) acquired with a three-dimensional surface acquisition system,
- wherein the image visualization system is configured to visualize and virtually move, zoom and/or rotate in 3D the comprehensive representation (R12) of a merge (MEL) of a first rendering (R1) of a first surface model (M1) and a second rendering (R2) of a second surface model (M2).
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.