Removing sharp cusps from 3D shapes for additive manufacturing

1. A method for processing a three-dimensional (3D) mesh model, comprising:

receiving a 3D mesh model;

automatically detecting one or more regions including a potential sharp cusp;

displaying the automatically detected one or more regions to a user and receiving input, from the user, designating an active region of the 3D mesh model; and

applying sphere fitting and Laplacian smoothing to the designated active region to remove a sharp cusp therefrom and to obtain a modified 3D mesh model, wherein applying the sphere fitting and Laplacian smoothing includes performing Laplacian energy minimization in an iterative fashion.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the received 3D mesh model includes image data obtained from a medical imaging device.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the medical imaging device is a computed tomography (CT) scanner.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein automatically detecting the one or more regions including a potential sharp cusp, comprises checking a deviation of face normals between neighboring normal and determining whether this deviation exceeds a predetermined threshold.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein automatically detecting the one or more regions including a potential sharp cusp, comprises:

selecting a seed point close to a potential sharp cusp;

growing a region around the selected seed point;

checking a deviation of face normals between neighboring normal within the growing region; and

terminating the region growing when the deviation exceeds a predetermined threshold.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the seed point is provided by the user.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the user designates the active region of the 3D mesh model by selecting from among the displayed automatically detected one or more regions including a potential sharp cusp.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein in applying sphere fitting and Laplacian smoothing to the designated active region:

a degree of sphere fitting-based inflation and a degree of surface area minimizing Laplacian forces are used to determine an extent of the sphere fitting and Laplacean smoothing, respectively;

the user is provided with a display of the modified 3D mesh model; and

the user is provided with an opportunity to modify one or both of the degree of sphere fitting-based inflation and the degree of surface area minimizing Laplacian forces.

9. The method of claim 1 , additionally comprising manufacturing a custom medical device from the modified 3D mesh model using a 3D printer.

10. A method for manufacturing a personalized medical device, comprising:

acquiring an image including a patient anatomical geometry;

creating a three-dimensional (3D) mesh model from the acquired image;

automatically detecting one or more regions including a potential sharp cusp from the created 3D mesh model;

designating an active region from among the one or more automatically detected regions;

applying sphere fitting and Laplacian smoothing to the designated active region to remove a sharp cusp therefrom and to obtain a modified 3D mesh mode wherein applying the sphere fitting and Laplacian smoothing includes performing Laplacian energy minimization in an iterative fashion; and

3D printing the modified 3D mesh model using a 3D printer.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein designating an active region from among the one or more automatically detected region, comprises:

displaying the automatically detecting one or more regions to a user; and

receiving input, from the user, designating an active region of the 3D mesh model.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the user designates the active region of the 3D mesh model by selecting from among the displayed automatically detected one or more regions including a potential sharp cusp.

13. The method of claim 10 , wherein the image including the patient anatomical geometry is acquired using a computed tomography (CT) scanner.

14. The method of claim 10 , wherein automatically detecting the one or more regions including a potential sharp cusp, comprises checking a deviation of face normals between neighboring normal and determining whether this deviation exceeds a predetermined threshold.

15. The method of claim 10 , wherein automatically detecting the one or more regions including a potential sharp cusp, comprises:

selecting a seed point close to a potential sharp cusp;

growing a region around the selected seed point;

checking a deviation of face normals between neighboring normal within the growing region; and

terminating the region growing when the deviation exceeds a predetermined threshold.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein the seed point is provided by the user.

17. The method of claim 10 , wherein in applying sphere fitting and Laplacian smoothing to the designated active region:

a degree of sphere fitting-based inflation and a degree of surface area minimizing Laplacian forces are used to determine an extent of the sphere fitting and Laplacean smoothing, respectively;

the user is provided with a display of the modified 3D mesh model; and

the user is provided with an opportunity to modify one or both of the degree of sphere fitting-based inflation and the degree of surface area minimizing Laplacian forces.

18. A computer system comprising:

a processor; and

a non-transitory, tangible, program storage medium, readable by the computer system, embodying a program of instructions executable by the processor to perform method steps for processing a three-dimensional (3D) mesh model, the method comprising:

receiving a 3D mesh model;

automatically detecting one or more regions including a potential sharp cusp;

displaying the automatically detecting one or more regions to a user and receiving input, from the user, designating an active region of the 3D mesh model; and

applying sphere fitting and Laplacian smoothing to the designated active region to remove a sharp cusp therefrom and to obtain a modified 3D mesh model, wherein the Laplacian smoothing with Laplacian energy minimization in an iterative fashion.