A prototype colon straightening system for polyp detection

Early detection and removal of polyps can reduce mortality due to colon cancers. The "fly-through" method in CT colonography has drawbacks. We are developing a prototype colon straightening system so as to provide a paradigm to inspect the colon wall in a "cut-open" fashion. The core component of the system is the straightening module, which models the colon straightening as a solid elastic deformation process with specially designated constraints and boundary conditions. It is demonstrated that the prototype system can retain consistency of surface points' spatial relationship and handle geometry with large-degree bendings. Future work is discussed.