Flattening the abdominal aortic tree for effective visualization.

We developed a novel visualization method for providing an uncluttered view of the abdominal aorta and its branches. The method abstracts the complex geometry of vessels using a convex primitive, and uses a sweep line algorithm to find a suboptimal placement of the primitive. The method was evaluated using 10 CT angiography datasets and resulted in a clear visualization with all cluttering intersections removed. The method can be used to convey clinical findings, including lumen patency and lesion locations, in a single two-dimensional image.