Application of 3D reconstruction through CT to measure the abdominal cavity volume in the treatment of external abdominal hernia

Objective: To evaluate 3D reconstruction through CT in the measurement of abdominal cavity volume.

Methods: From January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2019, 61 patients diagnosed as external abdominal hernia were included in this prospective study. Multislice computed tomography (MSCT) was applied to patients scanning, and the images were transferred to post-processing workstation for further analysis. We measured the abdominal cavity volumes using volume rendering (VR) method and diameter rendering (DR) method, and the results were used to test whether there is a correlation between them. In addition, the time required for the measurement was recorded and analyzed.

Results: In this study, we found that there was no significant difference in the abdominal cavity volumes between these two groups (VR vs. DR = 7857.316 ± 2035.786 cm³ vs. 7967.268 ± 2925.792 cm³, P > 0.05). Besides, the correlation analysis between the measured values of VR method and DR method showed there was a significant positive correlation (r = 0.922, P < 0.01). The linear regression equation based on the scatter plot was established as follows: y = 0.6417x + 2745, R² = 0.8504. Furthermore, this regression equation was simplified as follows: y = 0.64x + 2800, R² = 0.8499. Meanwhile, the time required for measurement of VR was significantly longer than that of DR (VR vs. DR = 64.3 ± 7.1 min vs. 2.6 ± 0.6 min, P < 0.01).

Conclusion: In conclusion, the DR method can quickly measure and calculate the abdominal cavity volume, and its accuracy can more suitable for clinical requirement.