Computed tomography slice thickness and its effects on three-dimensional reconstruction of anatomical structures

• DOI: 10.1016/j.jofri.2015.10.004
• Publication Date: 2015-10-23T08:09:55Z
• Authors: Jonathan M. Ford; Summer J. Decker
• Keywords: Partial volume; 3d model

Abstract Objectives Computed Tomography (CT) scan parameters such as slice thickness have a direct impact on any 3D models derived from the volumetric data. Higher slice thickness spacing leads to loss of resolution quality in the visualizations. Materials and methods Twenty CT head scans were acquired at a 0.625mm slice thickness. These data sets were resliced a range of 1–5mm slice thicknesses. The resultant 3D models of the skull were compared using the 0.625mm model as a standard. Differences in surface area, volume and part-to-part comparison were analyzed. Results and conclusions There were significant differences in surface area, volume and part-to-part comparison analyses from the 0.625mm skulls as determined with One-way ANOVA by a p -value less than 0.05. Part-to-part comparison proved to have the greatest sensitivity for detecting geometric differences between slice thickness treatments. This study proposes using a 1.25mm maximum slice thickness when forensic practitioners require 3D reconstruction in their casework.