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Building a three-dimensional model of the upper gastrointestinal tract for computer simulations of swallowing

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Abstract

We aimed to provide realistic three-dimensional (3D) models to be used in numerical simulations of peristaltic flow in patients exhibiting difficulty in swallowing, also known as dysphagia. To this end, a 3D model of the upper gastrointestinal tract was built from the color cryosection images of the Visible Human Project dataset. Regional color heterogeneities were corrected by centering local histograms of the image difference between slices. A voxel-based model was generated by stacking contours from the color images. A triangle mesh was built, smoothed and simplified. Visualization tools were developed for browsing the model at different stages and for virtual endoscopy navigation. As result, a computer model of the esophagus and the stomach was obtained, mainly for modeling swallowing disorders. A central-axis curve was also obtained for virtual navigation and to replicate conditions relevant to swallowing disorders modeling. We show renderings of the model and discuss its use for simulating swallowing as a function of bolus rheological properties. The information obtained from simulation studies with our model could be useful for physicians in selecting the correct nutritional emulsions for patients with dysphagia.

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Acknowledgments

We gratefully acknowledge Fresenius-Kabi Deutschland, GmbH, Bad Homburg, Germany, for financial support, the gastroenterologist José Mosso and the Clínica Dr. Alberto Pisanti Hospital in Mexico City, for valuable supervision and Dr. Alma Ranzon from Clínica 25 of the IMSS, for providing CAT scans. We also acknowledge the School of Medicine and the Nutrition Institute of the National Autonomous University of Mexico, to let us examine plastic models of the upper GI tract.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Ciencias Aplicadas y Desarrollo Tecnológico, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Circuito Exterior S/N, Ciudad Universitaria, AP 70-186, C.P. 04510, Mexico, D.F., Mexico

    Alfonso Gastelum, Lucely Mata, Gabriel Ascanio & Jorge Marquez

  2. Innovation & Development Center in Complex Formulations & Processing Technologies Pharmaceuticals Division, Fresenius-Kabi Deutschland GmbH, Langenhagen, Germany

    Edmundo Brito-de-la-Fuente

  3. Department of Computer Science, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand

    Patrice Delmas

  4. Instituto de Ingeniería, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico, Mexico

    William Vicente & Martín Salinas-Vázquez

Authors
  1. Alfonso Gastelum
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  2. Lucely Mata
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  3. Edmundo Brito-de-la-Fuente
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  4. Patrice Delmas
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  5. William Vicente
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  6. Martín Salinas-Vázquez
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  7. Gabriel Ascanio
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  8. Jorge Marquez
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Correspondence to Jorge Marquez.

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Gastelum, A., Mata, L., Brito-de-la-Fuente, E. et al. Building a three-dimensional model of the upper gastrointestinal tract for computer simulations of swallowing. Med Biol Eng Comput 54, 525–534 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11517-015-1338-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11517-015-1338-z

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