Hi,
I am currently working on a project to build SSM for branched vascular geometries, specifically models such as the aorta or coronary arteries. My goal is to obtain reliable PCA modes, generate new geometries from the learned modes, and eventually extract physiologically meaningful shape features capturing geometric variability.
At the moment, I am testing the workflow with a small dataset of only 4–6 aorta models before scaling to a larger cohort. However, in the Analyze stage I am not obtaining anatomically realistic shape variations. The generated models often show branch vessels appearing clustered together and non-physiological roughness, sharp deformations and irregularities in the trunk as well.
I suspect the issue may be related to my preprocessing, grooming, alignment, or optimization parameter choices, but I am not fully sure which step is contributing most.
I have already tried adjusting several grooming and optimization parameters.
I would greatly appreciate guidance on which grooming and optimize steps are most critical for branched vascular anatomies, and recommended parameter ranges for vascular SSM cases, and whether ShapeWorks has examples or best practices specifically for cardiovascular branched arteries.
I have shared some screenshots as well. I can share the models if someone wants to try as well.
Thanks a lot for the guidance & support.
- Nafis Arefin
