3D Ultrasound Imaging and Spatial Pressure Measurement System to Investigate Spinal Curve Response Imposed by a Simulated Brace

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Currently, the 3D mechanical response of the spine to physical loadings cannot be monitored and the development of the spinal brace process is slow. This research aims to investigate, advance and integrate monitoring technologies (sensors and actuators), specifically real-time 3D ultrasound image processing techniques, a 3D wireless spatial embedded pressure control sensor network, and a low cost high speed 3D shape acquisition process to investigate how the biomechanical loadings applied from a simulated spinal brace affects the internal spinal alignment. Four tasks will be completed: 1) investigate 3D ultrasound diagnostic technologies for real-time display, 2) develop prototypes and validate 3D ultrasound measurements on a physical spinal phantom with known geometry, 3) develop and validate a spatial pressure monitoring system to record loads, positions and directions of pressure pads applied to a body phantom, and 4) development of a high speed automatic process to capture the 3D body shape using a low cost camera system. ***Real-time 3D ultrasound images will be reconstructed and displayed with a low cost portable ultrasound machine and embedded position sensor within its probe, enhanced with developed image processing algorithms. Ultrasound 3D data will be processed by applying filters, edge enhancement and segmentation to reconstruct the image. Phantom studies will validate the 3D image development.***A customized testing frame accommodating multiple pressure pads which allow 6-degrees of motion will be designed. A wireless pressure control sensor network will be developed and embedded into the pressure pads to track spatial and pressure information. Experiments with known loads will determine accuracy of the embedded pressure sensor.***To develop a low cost high speed 3D body image acquisition system, the Microsoft Kinect v2 sensors for Windows are proposed. Algorithms will be developed to attain high speed capture to minimize body motion artifact. Experiments will be performed to validate the accuracy of the 3D reconstruction. Software will be developed to convert the 3D-point cloud data from the Kinect to a standard STL file format that can be used by industrial carving machines. ***Results of this research will be a suite of tools which can image the internal spinal alignment without ionizing radiation in real-time. The 3D pressure tracker system can provide loading and directional information and be further advanced for other wearable computer applications. The high speed 3D shape image capture process can generate surface files automatically that may be used for other industrial manufacturing applications. The ultimate goal is significant because this novel technology bundle can provide real-time tools to understand the biomechanical response of the spine to external forces and with automation, speed up the spinal brace design process.