An efficient approach based on 3D reconstruction of CT scan to improve the management and monitoring of COVID-19 patients

Mouad Hasni; Zineb Farahat; Azar Abdeljelil; Kamal Marzouki; Mohamed Aoudad; Zakaria Tlemsani; Kawtar Megdiche; Nabil Ngote

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e05453

An efficient approach based on 3D reconstruction of CT scan to improve the management and monitoring of COVID-19 patients

Heliyon. 2020 Nov;6(11):e05453. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e05453. Epub 2020 Nov 7.

Authors

Mouad Hasni¹, Zineb Farahat¹, Azar Abdeljelil¹, Kamal Marzouki^{1

2}, Mohamed Aoudad^{1

2}, Zakaria Tlemsani^{1

2}, Kawtar Megdiche¹, Nabil Ngote³

Affiliations

¹ Medical Simulation Center of the Cheikh Zaid Foundation, Rabat, Morocco.
² Covid-19 Unit, Cheikh Zaid Foundation, Rabat, Morocco.
³ Abulcasis International University of Health Sciences, Rabat, Morocco.

Abstract

Purpose: To reconstruct a 3D visualization from CT images of COVID-19 patients in order to improve understanding of the disease for better management and follow-up.

Materials and methods: We have retrieved CT images of 185 COVID-19 patients from the Cheikh Zaid International University Hospital in Rabat, Morocco. We then performed computer processing that allowed us to obtain a 3D visualization of these patients.

Results: In this article, we have chosen to do 3D reconstruction of three specific cases among 185 patients:- Cases (A1, A2) which are negative RT-PCR patient with normal CT images.- Cases (B1, B2) which are positive RT-PCR patient with abnormal CT images.- Case (C) which is a negative RT-PCR patient with CT abnormalities.To improve our results and have a better quality of the 3D reconstruction, we used different algorithms and a specific row data processing.

Conclusion: 3D reconstruction has a significant role in the diagnosis and management of COVID-19 patients. The quality and reliability of 3D reconstructions allow the clinician to make a quick and efficient diagnosis and avoid an eventual false negative (produced by the RT-PCR test). We suggest including chest 3D reconstruction in the patient management and prognosis evaluation.

Keywords: ANATOMAGE table; Biomedical engineering; COVID-19; CT; DICOM; Diagnostic; Follow-up; Infectious disease; Management; Monitoring; Pathology; RT-PCR; Radiology; Respiratory system; SARS-CoV-2; Virology.