Susanne B. Oehler

I am currently a PhD student at the University of Glasgow in the Computer Vision & Graphics group under the supervision of Dr. Paul Siebert and Prof. Mark Girolami. My current research concerns morphological shape analysis in 3D models and range images. We mainly use data acquired from stereo-photogrammetric systems. In my PhD, I am focusing on data coming from live capturing of human beings, more specifically female chest data, foot data and, adults and children's face data.

I started working on measurement techniques for 3D model assessment during my MSc in Advanced Computing Science at the University of Glasgow, which I completed in 2006. The MSc work was conducted in collaboration with Prof. Ashraf Ayoub and Dr. Balvinder Khambay. The outcome was a software tool for assessing breast volume on 3D chest models for pre- and post surgery breast cancer patients.

Previous to moving to Glasgow I have been working at the University catholique de Louvain (UCL) in the Communications and Remote Sensing Laboratory under the guidance of Prof. Benoit Macq. My work there was based on developing software tools for tumour segmentation on MRI, PetScan and CT for the MERCATOR project. These tools are plug-ins for the MedicalStudio platform. For this platform, I have also developped a plug-in visualization of EEG signals as my final year undergraduate project.

Breast Cancer is one of the most frequent forms of cancer in the UK. It often involves surgery for malign tissue removal in the chest area. Some of the surgeries can be so invasive that the patient is going to choose to have breast reconstructive surgery. It is important in these cases that the outcome results on equally sized breasts. In order to improve the planning of the surgery and assess objectively the outcome stereo-photogrammetry was chosen as an non-invasive imaging method. Stereo-photogrammetric imaging allows an accurate digital 3D reconstruction of the entire chest area.

3D models are rigid captures of the subject surface shape. This means a 3D model of, for instance, a woman's breast (a soft-tissue based subject) can be transformed into a rigid surface presenting the same morphology. This characteristic can be seen as one of the major advantages of 3D models on human morphology as it allows measurements without pressure or palpation error.

The outcome of the MSc project was a new Breast Analysis Tool (BAT) allowing a more precise segmentation of the breast in order to measure the breast volume and surface more accurately and consistently. Considering that after surgery the reconstructed breast might be of a different shape, volume is a reliable indicator if the goal of the breasts being of equal size has been achieved. It is also a valuable before reconstructive surgery of how much tissue volume has been removed and needs to reconstructed.

To determine the volume accurately on 3D chest models, the chest pose needs to enable the viewing of the inframammary fold by the camera system at the moment of capture. During my PhD we continued working on a new camera system allowing the patients to be posed leaning forward in order to obtain an unobstructed view of the inframammary fold.

With the foot data the measuring was taken one step further from manual measurements on 3D models to automated measurements. I investigated the possibility of obtaining automated measurements for orthopaedic purposes. One, as feedback for podiatric purposes and second, as method to recover foot shape information for fitting orthopaedic shoes. Currently I am working on new method for assessing face shape.

"...a sculptor's a person obsessed with form, with the shape of things. And it's not just the shape of any one thing, it's the shape of anything and everything..." Henry Moore, 1963.

I am interested in robotic vision, shape assessment and recognition, shape based retrieval.

The Role of Geodesics in Human-Computer Interfaces for 3D Surface Anatomy Assessment
Oehler,S.B. Siebert,J.P. Mao,Z. Khambay,B.S. and Ayoub,A.F., 10th International Conference on Medical Image Computing and Computer Assisted Intervention - MICCAI, Brisbane, Australia, Proceedings - Interaction in medical image analysis and visualization, 2 November, 2007.

Investigation into accuracy and reproducibility of a 3D breast imaging system using multiple stereo cameras
Henseler,H. Khambay,B.S. Bowman,A. Smith,J. Siebert,J.P. Oehler,S.B. Ju,X. Ayoub,A.F. and Ray,A.K., Journal of Plastic, Reconstructive & Aesthetic Surgery, 31 August, 2010.

Academic Activities

Academic Activities

Contact Details

Computing Science

Sir Alwyn Williams Building

Lilybank Gardens

University of Glasgow

Glasgow

G12 8QQ

Scotland, UK



Phone: +44 141 330 1621

Email: oehlersb @ dcs . gla . ac . uk