Reconstruction of 3D bladder model and computation of intra-vesical volume during storing based on magnetic resonance imaging

Urinary incontinence, the loss of bladder control induced by some spinal cord injured, mentally retarded, or elderly people is a common and often embarrassing problem. So it is important to accurately measure bladder volume in many clinical situations. The primary goal of this study is to reconstruct three-dimension (3D) bladder models based on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and compute intra-vesical volume during storing according to 3D bladder shape. Firstly, T2-weighted MRI images were acquired, and were segmented semi-automatically using mimics. And then, 3D bladder models in four different phase were constructed respectively. After that, the whole model was smoothed to facilitate the next step calculations. Finally, bladder volume measurement was implemented based on the constructed model. The results not only showed that it is feasible to reconstruct 3D bladder models based on MRI and to realize 3D volume measurement, but also displayed the bladder dynamic volume changing process. The results may be providing more useful reference for the ultrasound dynamic bladder reconstruction and volume measurement.