Shape Modeling and Image Visualization in 3D with M-rep Object Models

We present a framework and geometry for object modeling in medical image analysis and display based on a sampled medial representation called an m-rep. This approach provides a coordinate system that is relative to the shape of the model—important because it allows the definition of more accurate visualization of 3D image data relative to a model. It also provides a means for describing the correspondence between points of two spaces or shapes. The methods described in this paper have been used successfully in 3D image segmentation by deformable m-reps.