University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.
Alberta Health Services, Edmonton, AB, Canada.
Stud Health Technol Inform. 2021 Jun 28;280:100-105. doi: 10.3233/SHTI210444.
Use of 3D ultrasound (US) scanners to detect and monitor scoliosis have been validated. The Cobb angle, axial vertebral rotation, spinal flexibility, curvatures in the sagittal profile and the Cobb angle on the plane of maximum curvature (PMC) can be measured from coronal, transverse and sagittal planes of ultrasound images. However, traditional 3D ultrasound scanners are relatively bulky and expensive. 2D US handheld and low-cost scanners are widely available. To adapt the 2D scanners for scoliosis applications, a position and orientation system is integrated with the scanner. The objective of this study was to validate a newly developed 3D handheld US system to image the spine. The wireless handheld US scanner (C3-HD, Clarius, Canada) was selected because of its high resolution and availability of raw data. A wireless tracking system based on electromagnetic (G4 system, Polhemus, USA) was integrated with the Clarius ultrasound. During scanning, the ultrasound information was synchronized with the scanner's position and orientation by using custom developed software. Both information were streamed wirelessly to a laptop. Custom software reconstructed and displayed the 3D spinal image in real-time. A single 3D printed vertebra, two full plastic spine phantoms from T1-T12 vertebrae and a non-scoliotic volunteer were scanned. The 3D reconstruction process of a spine image was less than 3 seconds. The dimensional and the angle errors were 1 mm and 3°, respectively. This study demonstrated that a low-cost ($11,000 USD) handheld 3D ultrasound system was developed and validated. Clinical trials on subjects attending will be the next step.
使用 3D 超声（US）扫描仪来检测和监测脊柱侧凸已经得到了验证。Cobb 角、轴向椎体旋转、脊柱柔韧性、矢状位曲度和最大曲率平面（PMC）上的 Cobb 角可以从冠状面、横断面和矢状面的超声图像上进行测量。然而，传统的 3D 超声扫描仪体积较大且价格昂贵。2D US 手持式和低成本扫描仪广泛可用。为了将 2D 扫描仪应用于脊柱侧凸，需要将位置和定向系统集成到扫描仪中。本研究的目的是验证一种新开发的用于成像脊柱的 3D 手持式 US 系统。选择无线手持式 US 扫描仪（C3-HD，Clarius，加拿大）是因为其具有高分辨率和可获得原始数据。基于电磁的无线跟踪系统（G4 系统，Polhemus，美国）与 Clarius 超声集成在一起。在扫描过程中，使用定制开发的软件将超声信息与扫描仪的位置和方向同步。这两个信息都通过无线传输到笔记本电脑。定制软件实时重建并显示 3D 脊柱图像。扫描了一个 3D 打印的椎骨、两个完整的塑料脊柱模型从 T1-T12 椎体和一个非脊柱侧凸的志愿者。脊柱图像的 3D 重建过程不到 3 秒。尺寸和角度误差分别为 1 毫米和 3°。本研究表明，开发并验证了一种低成本（11000 美元）手持式 3D 超声系统。下一步将是对参加临床试验的受试者进行研究。
