# Inferior dental nerve tracing

**URL:** <https://discourse.slicer.org/t/inferior-dental-nerve-tracing/14956>\
**Category:** Support\
**Created:** [December 9, 2020, 9:18am UTC](https://discourse.slicer.org/t/inferior-dental-nerve-tracing/14956 "2020-12-09T09:18:37Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![manjula](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/discourse.slicer.org/manjula/32/80981_2.png) [@manjula](https://discourse.slicer.org/u/manjula)\
**Post date:** [December 9, 2020, 9:18am UTC](https://discourse.slicer.org/t/inferior-dental-nerve-tracing/14956/1 "2020-12-09T09:18:37Z")

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I would appreciate if someone could share their ways (recipes) of segmenting the IDN Canal on CBCT and CTs.

What is the most balanced way (speed and accuracy) that you have found for this?

thanks

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**Author:** ![lassoan](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/discourse.slicer.org/lassoan/32/13_2.png) [@lassoan](https://discourse.slicer.org/u/lassoan)\
**Post date:** [December 9, 2020, 2:17pm UTC](https://discourse.slicer.org/t/inferior-dental-nerve-tracing/14956/2 "2020-12-09T14:17:37Z")

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So far the best method that I have found is using Draw tube effect: you step through coronal slices of the volume and mark the nerve centerpoint wherever you see it (it is enough to place a point in one of every 10-20 slices where the nerve curvature is low).

Probably this could be automated well using deep learning, but since the manual segmentation should not take more than 1-2 minutes, automation might not save a lot of time.

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**Author:** ![manjula](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/discourse.slicer.org/manjula/32/80981_2.png) [@manjula](https://discourse.slicer.org/u/manjula)\
**Post date:** [December 9, 2020, 4:43pm UTC](https://discourse.slicer.org/t/inferior-dental-nerve-tracing/14956/3 "2020-12-09T16:43:15Z")

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I have never tried it that way. It is good enough for planning purposes. And really works well.many thanks Prof Lasso