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This research introduces SCALP, a semi-supervised framework using Point Transformers and spectral warping to build statistical shape models from noisy 3D photogrammetry scans. The method effectively localizes craniofacial landmarks with minimal annotation while isolating the cranium from clutter without manual preprocessing. It offers a clinically viable alternative to CT for analyzing infant head shapes by leveraging imperfect, radiation-free data directly.
SCALP: Semi-Supervised Statistical Shape Modeling from Imperfect 3D Photogrammetry via Landmark-Anchored Spectral Warp
arXiv:2608.00187v1 Announce Type: cross Abstract: Correspondence-based statistical shape modeling (SSM) is vital for population-level morphometric analysis, but conventional pipelines assume clean, fully registered surfaces. Real-world clinical photogrammetry scans are often noisy, partial, and cluttered, hindering the adoption of radiation-free surface imaging as a safe alternative to computed tomography (CT) for infant craniosynostosis. We present SCALP (Semi-supervised Correspondence via lAndmark Localization and sPectral warping), a two-stage framework that constructs consistent shape models directly from raw, imperfect surface scans. First, a semi-supervised Point Transformer leverages a small expert-annotated dataset alongside a large unlabeled cohort to accurately localize craniofacial landmarks with minimal annotation overhead. Second, these landmarks anchor a Laplace--Beltrami spectral deformation of an anatomical template, generating dense correspondences while naturally isolating the cranium from peripheral scanning clutter without manual preprocessing. Experiments on infant photogrammetry scans demonstrate that SCALP consistently outperforms state-of-the-art unsupervised point-cloud approaches, offering a clinically practical pathway toward objective, radiation-free head shape analysis.
Abstract:Correspondence-based statistical shape modeling (SSM) is vital for population-level morphometric analysis, but conventional pipelines assume clean, fully registered surfaces. Real-world clinical photogrammetry scans are often noisy, partial, and cluttered, hindering the adoption of radiation-free surface imaging as a safe alternative to computed tomography (CT) for infant craniosynostosis. We present SCALP (Semi-supervised Correspondence via lAndmark Localization and sPectral warping), a two-stage framework that constructs consistent shape models directly from raw, imperfect surface scans. First, a semi-supervised Point Transformer leverages a small expert-annotated dataset alongside a large unlabeled cohort to accurately localize craniofacial landmarks with minimal annotation overhead. Second, these landmarks anchor a Laplace--Beltrami spectral deformation of an anatomical template, generating dense correspondences while naturally isolating the cranium from peripheral scanning clutter without manual preprocessing. Experiments on infant photogrammetry scans demonstrate that SCALP consistently outperforms state-of-the-art unsupervised point-cloud approaches, offering a clinically practical pathway toward objective, radiation-free head shape analysis.
Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition (cs.CV); Machine Learning (cs.LG)
arXiv:2608.00187 [cs.CV]
(or arXiv:2608.00187v1 [cs.CV] for this version)
https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2608.00187 Focus to learn more arXiv-issued DOI via DataCite (pending registration)
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Full text under the publisher's open licence · 248 words
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