A 3D Reconstruction Model of the Female Pelvic Floor by Using Plastinated Cross Sections

Background: The structures of the pelvic floor are clinically important but difficult to assess. To facilitate the understanding of the complicated pelvic floor anatomy, a computer-aided 3D-model was created from a female pelvis by using sheet plastination. The aim of this project was to create a three-dimensional model of the female pelvis and pelvic contents. This detailed 3D-model will be forwarded to the Technical College Aachen (Germany) for an additional biomechanical study regarding the pelvic floor dynamic. Method: A slice anatomy study, using plastinated transparent pelvis cross sections, was performed in order to obtain a 3D reconstruction. One female human pelvis used for this study was first plastinated as a block according to the E12 ultrathin plastination method, then sliced into thin slices, and eventually subjected to 3D computerized reconstruction using the WinSURF modeling system (SURFdriver Software). Results: The finished E12 slices provide excellent high-resolution anatomical images. Qualitative observations revealed that the morphological features of the model were consistent with those displayed by typical cadaveric specimens. The quality of the reconstructed images appeared distinct, especially the spatial positions and complicated relationships of contiguous structures of the female pelvis. Conclusions: The high resolution of thin plastinated slices makes accurate anatomical surface reconstructions possible. The 3D-model of the female pelvis presented in this paper provides a stereoscopic view to study the adjacent relationship and arrangement of respective pelvis sections and can serve for finite element biomechanical simulations of the pelvic floor dynamics, as well as for teaching.