Smooth surface approximation to serial cross-sections

The reconstruction of the surface model of an object from 2D cross-sections plays an important role in many applications. In this paper, we present a method for surface approximation to a given set of 2D contours. The resulting surface is represented by a bicubic closed B-spline surface with C-2 continuity. The method performs the skinning of intermediate contour curves represented by cubic B-spline curves on a common knot vector, each of which is fitted to its contour points within a given accuracy. In order to acquire more compact representation for the surface, the method includes an algorithm for reducing the number of knots in the common knot vector. The proposed method provides a smooth and accurate surface model, yet realizes efficient data reduction. Some experimental results are given using synthetic and MRI data. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd