Automatic extraction of the 3D symmetry line of back surface: application on scoliotic adolescents.

We propose a new method to extract automatically the symmetry line of the 3D back surface of patients affected by scoliosis. Our method is based on the detection of local symmetry planes computed on thick layers of the back. Results have been obtained on a sample of 112 scoliotic adolescents and we compare the symmetry line obtained by our method with a reference line defined by clinicians. We also study the influence of the scoliosis severity and of the Body Mass Index on the results.