Catálogo de publicaciones - libros

This paper presents a new segmentation algorithm which combines active shape model and robust point matching techniques. It can use any simple feature detector to extract a large number of feature points in the image. Robust point matching is then used to search for the correspondences between feature and model points while the model is being deformed along the modes of variation of the active shape model. Although the algorithm is generic, it is particularly suited for medical imaging applications where prior knowledge is available. The value of the proposed method is examined with two different medical imaging modalities (Ultrasound, MRI) and in both 2D and 3D. The experiments have shown that the proposed algorithm is immune to missing feature points and noise. It has demonstrated significant improvements when compared to RPM-TPS and ASM alone.

Since the upturn of intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) as an imaging technique for the coronary artery system, much research has been done to simplify the complicated analysis of the resulting images. In this study, an attempt to develop an automatic tissue characterization algorithm for IVUS images was done. The first step was the extraction of texture features. The resulting feature space was used for classification, constructing a likelihood map to represent different coronary plaques. The information in this map was organized using a recently developed [1] geodesic snake formulation, the so-called Stop & Go snake. The novelty of our study lies in this last step, as it was the first time to apply the Stop & Go snake to segment IVUS images.

This paper presents a new algorithm for the semi-automatic segmentation of the prostate from B-mode trans-rectal ultrasound (TRUS) images. The segmentation algorithm first uses image warping to make the prostate shape elliptical. Measurement points along the prostate boundary, obtained from an edge-detector, are then used to find the best elliptical fit to the warped prostate. The final segmentation result is obtained by applying a reverse warping algorithm to the elliptical fit. This algorithm was validated using manual segmentation by an expert observer on 17 midgland, pre-operative, TRUS images. Distance-based metrics between the manual and semi-automatic contours showed a mean absolute difference of 0.67 ± 0.18mm, which is significantly lower than inter-observer variability. Area-based metrics showed an average sensitivity greater than 97% and average accuracy greater than 93%. The proposed algorithm was almost two times faster than manual segmentation and has potential for real-time applications.

Cardiac catheter ablation is a minimally invasive medical procedure to treat patients with heart rhythm disorders. It is useful to know the positions of the catheters and electrodes during the intervention, e.g. for the automatization of cardiac mapping. Our goal is therefore to develop a robust image analysis method that can detect the catheters in X-ray fluoroscopy images. Our method uses steerable tensor voting in combination with a catheter-specific multi-step extraction algorithm. The evaluation on clinical fluoroscopy images shows that especially the extraction of the catheter tip is successful and that the use of tensor voting accounts for a large increase in performance.

One critical issue in the context of image restoration is the problem of noise removal while keeping the integrity of relevant image information. Denoising is a crucial step to increase image conspicuity and to improve the performances of all the processings needed for quantitative imaging analysis. The method proposed in this paper is based on an optimized version of the Non Local (NL) Means algorithm. This approach uses the natural redundancy of information in image to remove the noise. Tests were carried out on synthetic datasets and on real 3T MR images. The results show that the NL-means approach outperforms other classical denoising methods, such as Anisotropic Diffusion Filter and Total Variation.

This paper presents an evaluation of the performance of a three-dimensional Active Shape Model (ASM) to segment the liver in 48 clinical CT scans. The employed shape model is built from 32 samples using an optimization approach based on the minimum description length (MDL). Three different gray-value appearance models (plain intensity, gradient and normalized gradient profiles) are created to guide the search. The employed segmentation techniques are ASM search with 10 and 30 modes of variation and a deformable model coupled to a shape model with 10 modes of variation. To assess the segmentation performance, the obtained results are compared to manual segmentations with four different measures (overlap, average distance, RMS distance and ratio of deviations larger 5mm). The only appearance model delivering usable results is the normalized gradient profile. The deformable model search achieves the best results, followed by the ASM search with 30 modes. Overall, statistical shape modeling delivers very promising results for a fully automated segmentation of the liver.

Although magnetic resonance imaging is considered to be non-invasive, there is at least one effect on the patient which has to be monitored: The heating which is generated by absorbed radio frequency (RF) power. It is described using the specific absorption rate (SAR). In order to obey legal limits for these SAR values, the scanner’s duty cycle has to be adjusted. The limiting factor depends on the patient’s position with respect to the scanner. Detection of this position allows a better adjustment of the RF power resulting in an improved scan performance and image quality. In this paper, we propose real-time methods for accurately detecting the patient’s position with respect to the scanner. MR data of thirteen test persons acquired using a new “move during scan” protocol which provides low resolution MR data during the initial movement of the patient bed into the scanner, is used to validate the detection algorithm. When being integrated, our results would enable automatic SAR optimization within the usual acquisition workflow at no extra cost.

In model-based segmentation, automated region identification is achieved via registration of novel data to a pre-determined model. The desired structure is typically generated via manual tracing within this model. When model-based segmentation is applied to human cortical data, problems arise if left-right comparisons are desired. The asymmetry of the human cortex requires that both left and right models of a structure be composed in order to effectively segment the desired structures. Paradoxically, defining a model in both hemi-spheres carries a likelihood of introducing bias to one of the structures. This paper describes a novel technique for creating a symmetric average model in which both hemispheres are equally represented and thus left-right comparison is possible. This work is an extension of that proposed by Guimond et al [1]. Hippocampal segmentation is used as a test-case in a cohort of 118 normal eld-erly subjects and results are compared with expert manual tracing.

Image diffusion can smooth away noise and small-scale structures while retaining important features, thereby enhancing the performances of many image processing algorithms such as image compression, segmentation and recognition. In this paper, we present a novel diffusion algorithm for which the filtering kernels vary according to the perceptual saliency of boundaries in the input images. The boundary saliency is estimated through a saliency measure which is generally determined by curvature changes, intensity gradient and the interaction of neighboring vectors. The connection between filtering kernels and perceptual saliency makes it possible to remove small-scale structures and preserves significant boundaries adaptively. The effectiveness of the proposed approach is validated by experiments on various medical images including the color Chinese Visible Human data set and gray MRI brain images.

Pulse inversion ultrasound is a mechanism for preferentially displaying contrast agent in blood vessels while suppressing signal from tissue. We seek a method for identifying and segmenting areas of the liver with similar statistically significant time intensity curves. As a first step in this process, a method of weighting Rayleigh distributed ultrasound image data before principal components analysis is presented. Simulation studies show that relative mean squared error can be reduced by 14% when the correct number of dimensions in selected. Our method is tested on an ultrasound phantom showing slightly increased error suppression, and is demonstrated on a clinical liver scan, showing decreased correlation between signals in the low intensity range.