Systems and methods for modeling spines and treating spines based on spine models

A system for creating a visual simulation of a subject's condition, the system comprising:

• a plurality of virtual models stored in computer accessible memory, each of the plurality of virtual models representing an anatomical structure and having an associated center point;
• an image processor unit, responsive to one or more images, operational to identify at least one center point on each of a plurality anatomical structures visible in an image;
• a graphics generator unit, responsive to the image processor, operational to generate from identified center points of the anatomical structures, a curve representation of an arrangement of the anatomical structures in the image, the curve representation comprising a set of three dimensional spatial coordinates including at least each of the identified center points of the anatomical structures;
• and
• a morphing processor unit, operatively coupled to the computer accessible memory, operational to access in the computer accessible memory a virtual model having a corresponding anatomical structure visible in the image, the morphing processor unit further operational to morph parameters of the virtual model into a spatial arrangement that substantially mimics the corresponding anatomical structure visible in the image.

A method for creating a visual simulation of a subject's condition, the method comprising:

• A) identifying a plurality of points defining the edges of at least one anatomical structure visible in an image of the subject;
• B) deriving, from the plurality of defined edges, a dead center point of a shape defined by the plurality of defined edges, the dead center point comprising a set of three dimensional spatial coordinates;
• C) manipulating three dimensional spatial coordinates of each of a plurality of points in a virtual model of the corresponding anatomical structure relative to the derived dead center point, wherein manipulating of the spatial coordinates of each of the plurality of points in the virtual model comprises any of translating, pivoting, rotating or proportionally scaling, spatial coordinates of each of a plurality of points in the virtual model relative to the derived dead center point;
• and
• D) repeating any of A), B) and/or C) for other anatomical structures visible in image of the subject.

A method for creating a visual simulation of a subject's morphological condition, the method comprising:

• A) storing, in a computer accessible memory, a plurality of virtual models each of which represents a corresponding anatomical structure, the plurality of the virtual models having a predetermined spatial relationship representing a normal arrangement of corresponding anatomical structures
• B) deriving, from at least one image of a subject, a subject morphology model comprising at least three dimensional spatial data identifying a spatial relationship of anatomical structures identified in the at least one image of the subject;
• and
• C) morphing, with the subject morphology model, the predetermined spatial relationship of the virtual models into a spatial arrangement which substantially mimics the spatial relationship of the anatomical structures identified in the at least one image of the subject.