Three-dimensional registration of tomography data for quantification in biomaterials science

The paper shows the benefit of registration tools in the quantitative analysis of tomography data. For this purpose three-dimensional datasets, i.e. target design in rapid prototyping, hard X-ray tomography, and magnetic resonance tomography, were registered with rigid, affine and non-rigid algorithms. Using rigid registration, we aligned individual tomograms to obtain one three-dimensional dataset per specimen, compared human teeth to determine abrasion, and optimized the acquisition parameters in clinical computed tomography. Affine registration was used to determine the sintering-induced shrinkage of hydroxyapatite scaffolds. Using non-rigid registration, we gained insight into tumor morphology imaged by different modes of micro computed tomography. In addition, the fixation-induced shrinkage of tumor tissue and the local deformation of brain tissues as well as the shape changes in nickel titanium alloys were quantitatively determined. Three-dimensional registration is, therefore, a powerful means to count back any influence on morphology of tissues and to quantitatively compare data of different tomography modalities.