A new variational approach for 3D shape registration

Abstract

Shape-based approaches became very popular in medical imaging. The key issue in these methods is the shape representation and registration. This paper introduces a new method for the 3D shape registration problem by matching vector distance functions. The vector distance function representation is more flexible than the conventional signed distance map since it enables us to better control the shapes registration process by using more general transformations. Based on this model, a variational frame work is proposed for the global and local registration of shapes which does not need any point correspondences. A gradient descent optimization is used and efficiently can handle both the rigid and the non-rigid operations together. The registration of real 3D human teeth models demonstrates the potential of the proposed approach. © 2007 IEEE.