[Research progress on three-dimensional reconstruction and visualization of peripheral nerve].

Objective: To review the research progress on the three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction and visualization of peripheral nerve.

Methods: Literature about the research on the 3D reconstruction and visualization of peripheral nerve both at home and abroad were extensively reviewed and thoroughly analyzed.

Results: The application of 3D reconstruction and visualization technology was capable of not only reappearing the 3D outer contour and spatial adjacent relationship of peripheral nerve veritable but also displaying, rotating, zooming, dividing and real-time measuring their 3D internal structure and the delicate pathways in any direction either separately or totally. Preliminary achievements were achieved in terms of brachial plexus, lumbosacral plexus, the functional cluster of nerve trunk, intramuscular nerve distribution pattern, peripheral nerve regeneration and the 3D reconstruction and visualization research of complex tissue including peripheral nerve. However, the research on the visualization of peripheral nerve was still in the initial stage since such problems as recognition, segmentation, registration and fusion of the peripheral nerve information were not resolved yet.

Conclusion: Researching 3D reconstruction and visualization of the peripheral nerve is of great value for updating the diagnosis and treatment principle of peripheral nerve injury, improving its diagnosis and treatment method and launching a new way for the studying and teaching, which may be a new growing point for the peripheral nerve surgery.