Constructing 3D models of the pediatric upper airway from long range optical coherence tomography images

Long-range optical coherence tomography has been developed to image the upper airway, obtaining high resolution, cross-sectional images of the hollow structure. The information obtained from the anatomical structure of the airway is important to objectively identify regions of airway obstruction. This paper describes a technique to create 3D reconstructions of the upper airway from LR-OCT images. Herein we outline the necessary steps to generate these 3D models, including image processing techniques, manual tissue segmentation in Mimics, anatomical curvature bending, and the final STL model rendition. These 3D models were used to qualitatively analyze structural changes before and after surgical interventions. The reconstructions could also be used for further computational fluid dynamics analysis.