Development of the Korean Spine Database and Automatic Surface Mesh Intersection Algorithm for Constructing e-Spine Simulator

Abstract

By 2026, Korea is expected to surpass the UN’s definition of an aged society and reach the level of a superaged society. With an aging population come increased disorders involving the spine. To prevent unnecessary spinal surgery and support scientific diagnosis of spinal disease and systematic prediction of treatment outcomes, we have been developing e-Spine, which is a computer simulation model of the human spine. In this paper, we present the Korean spine database and automatic surface mesh intersection algorithm to construct e-Spine. To date, the Korean spine database has collected spine data from 77 cadavers and 298 patients. The spine data consists of 2D images from CT, MRI, or X-ray, 3D shapes, geometry data, and property data. The volume and quality of the Korean spine database are now the world’s highest ones. In addition, our triangular surface mesh intersection algorithm automatically remeshes the spine-implant intersection model to make it valid for finite element analysis (FEA). This makes it possible to run the FEA using the spine-implant mesh model without any manual effort. Our database and surface mesh intersection algorithm will offer great value and utility in the diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of patients suffering from spinal diseases.