Annular structure representation

An apparatus for constructing a representation of an annular structure associated with an anatomical object, the apparatus comprising:

• at least one processor;
• and
• a memory storing:
• at least one neural network trained to determine point locations associated with the annular structure;
• and
• instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor cause the at least one processor to:
• receive three-dimensional image data of the anatomical object;
• detect a first landmark point and a second landmark point on the annular structure using one of the at least one neural network;
• determine a plane positioned between the first landmark point and the second landmark point and oriented in accordance with a predefined angular relationship to a line connecting the first landmark point and the second landmark point;
• determine a third landmark point which lies in the plane using one of the at least one neural network;
• generate the representation of the annular structure using at least the first landmark point, the second landmark point, and the third landmark point;
• and
• output the representation.

A computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to:

• receive three-dimensional image data of an anatomical object;
• detect a first landmark point and a second landmark point on an annular structure;
• determine a plane positioned between the first landmark point and the second landmark point and oriented in accordance with a predefined angular relationship to a line connecting the first landmark point and the second landmark point;
• determine a third landmark point on the annular structure which lies in the plane;
• generate a representation of the annular structure using at least the first landmark point, the second landmark point, and the third landmark point;
• and
• output the representation.