The use of a projection method to simplify portal and hepatic vein segmentation in liver anatomy

Abstract: In living donor liver transplantation, the volume of the potential graft must be measured to ensure sufficient liver function after surgery. Couinaud divided the liver into 8 functionally independent segments. However, this method is not simple to perform in 3D space directly. Thus, we propose a rapid method to segment the liver based on the hepatic vessel tree. The most important step of this method is vascular projection. By carefully selecting a projection plane, a 3D point can be fixed in the projection plane. This greatly helps in rapid classification. This method was validated by applying it to a 3D liver depicted on CT images, and the result was in good agreement with Couinaud’s classification. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]