Towards Real-time Remote Processing of Laparoscopic Video

Laparoscopic surgery is a minimally invasive technique where surgeons insert a small video camera into the patient\u27s body to visualize internal organs and use small tools to perform these procedures. However, the benefit of small incisions has a disadvantage of limited visualization of subsurface tissues. Image-guided surgery (IGS) uses pre-operative and intra-operative images to map subsurface structures and can reduce the limitations of laparoscopic surgery. One particular laparoscopic system is the daVinci-si robotic surgical vision system. The video streams generate approximately 360 megabytes of data per second, demonstrating a trend toward increased data sizes in medicine, primarily due to higher-resolution video cameras and imaging equipment. Real-time processing this large stream of data on a bedside PC, single or dual node setup, may be challenging and a high-performance computing (HPC) environment is not typically available at the point of care. To process this data on remote HPC clusters at the typical 30 frames per second rate (fps), it is required that each 11.9 MB (1080p) video frame be processed by a server and returned within the time this frame is displayed or 1/30th of a second. The ability to acquire, process, and visualize data in real time is essential for the performance of complex tasks as well as minimizing risk to the patient. We have implemented and compared performance of compression, segmentation and registration algorithms on Clemson\u27s Palmetto supercomputer using dual Nvidia graphics processing units (GPUs) per node and compute unified device architecture (CUDA) programming model. We developed three separate applications that run simultaneously: video acquisition, image processing, and video display. The image processing application allows several algorithms to run simultaneously on different cluster nodes and transfer images through message passing interface (MPI). Our segmentation and registration algorithms resulted in an acceleration factor of around 2 and 8 times respectively. To achieve a higher frame rate, we also resized images and reduced the overall processing time. As a result, using high-speed network to access computing clusters with GPUs to implement these algorithms in parallel will improve surgical procedures by providing real-time medical image processing and laparoscopic data

Advanced techniques in medical image segmentation of the liver

Tesis por compendio[EN] Image segmentation is, along with multimodal and monomodal registration, the operation with the greatest applicability in medical image processing. There are many operations and filters, as much as applications and cases, where the segmentation of an organic tissue is the first step. The case of liver segmentation in radiological images is, after the brain, that on which the highest number of scientific publications can be found. This is due, on the one hand, to the need to continue innovating in existing algorithms and, on the other hand, to the applicability in many situations related to diagnosis, treatment and monitoring of liver diseases but also for clinical planning. In the case of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), only in recent years some solutions have achieved good results in terms of accuracy and robustness in the segmentation of the liver. However these algorithms are generally not user-friendly. In the case of computed tomography (CT) scans more methodologies and solutions have been developed but it is difficult to find a good trade-off between accuracy and practical clinical use. To improve the state-of-the-art in both cases (MRI and CT), a common methodology to design and develop two liver segmentation algorithms in those imaging modalities has been proposed in this thesis. The second step has been the validation of both algorithms. In the case of CT images, there exist public databases with images segmented manually by experts that the scientific community uses as a common link for the validation and comparison of their algorithms. The validation is done by obtaining certain coefficients of similarity between the manual and the automatic segmentation. This way of validating the accuracy of the algorithm has been followed in this thesis, except in the case of magnetic resonance imaging because, at present, there are no databases publicly available. In this case, there aren't public or accessible images. Accordingly, a private database has been created where several expert radiologists have manually segmented different studies of patients that have been used as a reference. This database is composed by 17 studies (with more than 1,500 images), so the validation of this method in MRI is one of the more extensive currently published. In the validation stage, an accuracy above 90% in the Jaccard and Dice coefficients has been achieved. The vast majority of the compared authors achieves similar values. However, in general, the algorithms proposed in this thesis are more user-friendly for clinical environments because the computational cost is lower, the clinical interaction is non-existent and it is not necessary an initiation in the case of the magnetic resonance algorithm and a small initiation (it is only necessary to introduce a manual seed) for the computed tomography algorithm. In this thesis, a third hypothesis that makes use of the results of liver segmentation in MRI combined to augmented reality algorithms has also been developed. Specifically, a real and innocuous study, non-invasive for clinician and patient has been designed and validated through it has been shown that the use of this technology creates benefits in terms of greater accuracy and less variability versus the non-use in a particular case of laparoscopic surgery.[ES] La segmentación de imágenes es, junto al registro multimodal y monomodal, la operación con mayor aplicabilidad en tratamiento digital de imagen médica. Son multitud las operaciones y filtros, así como las aplicaciones y casuística, que derivan de una segmentación de un tejido orgánico. El caso de segmentación del hígado en imágenes radiológicas es, después del cerebro, la que mayor número de publicaciones científicas podemos encontrar. Esto es debido por un lado a la necesidad de seguir innovando en los algoritmos ya existentes y por otro a la gran aplicabilidad que tiene en muchas situaciones relacionadas con el diagnóstico, tratamiento y seguimiento de patologías hepáticas pero también para la planificación clínica de las mismas. En el caso de imágenes de resonancia magnética, sólo en los últimos años han aparecido soluciones que consiguen buenos resultados en cuanto a precisión y robustez en la segmentación del hígado. Sin embargo dichos algoritmos, por lo general son poco utilizables en el ambiente clínico. En el caso de imágenes de tomografía computarizada encontramos mucha más variedad de metodologías y soluciones propuestas pero es difícil encontrar un equilibrio entre precisión y uso práctico clínico. Es por ello que para mejorar el estado del arte en ambos casos (imágenes de resonancia magnética y tomografía computarizada) en esta tesis se ha planteado una metodología común a la hora de diseñar y desarrollar sendos algoritmos de segmentación del hígado en las citadas modalidades de imágenes anatómicas. El segundo paso ha sido la validación de ambos algoritmos. En el caso de imágenes de tomografía computarizada existen bases de datos públicas con imágenes segmentadas manualmente por expertos y que la comunidad científica suele utilizar como nexo común a la hora de validar y posteriormente comparar sus algoritmos. La validación se hace mediante la obtención de determinados coeficientes de similitud entre la imagen segmentada manualmente por los expertos y las que nos proporciona el algoritmo. Esta forma de validar la precisión del algoritmo ha sido la seguida en esta tesis, con la salvedad que en el caso de imágenes de resonancia magnética no existen bases de datos de acceso público. Por ello, y para este caso, lo que se ha hecho es la creación previa de una base de datos propia donde diferentes expertos radiólogos han segmentado manualmente diferentes estudios de pacientes con el fin de que puedan servir como referencia y se pueda seguir la misma metodología que en el caso anterior. Dicha base de datos ha hecho posible que la validación se haga en 17 estudios (con más de 1.500 imágenes), lo que convierte la validación de este método de segmentación del hígado en imágenes de resonancia magnética en una de las más extensas publicadas hasta la fecha. La validación y posterior comparación han dejado patente una precisión superior al 90% reflejado en el coeficiente de Jaccard y Dice, muy en consonancia con valores publicados por la inmensa mayoría de autores que se han podido comparar. Sin embargo, y en general, los algoritmos planteados en esta tesis han obtenido unos criterios de uso mucho mayores, ya que en general presentan menores costes de computación, una interacción clínica casi nula y una iniciación nula en el caso del algoritmo de resonancia magnética y casi nula en el caso de algoritmos de tomografía computarizada. En esta tesis, también se ha abordado un tercer punto que hace uso de los resultados obtenidos en la segmentación del hígado en imágenes de resonancia magnética. Para ello, y haciendo uso de algoritmos de realidad aumentada, se ha diseñado y validado un estudio real inocuo y no invasivo para el clínico y para el paciente donde se ha demostrado que la utilización de esta tecnología reporta mayores beneficios en cuanto a mayor precisión y menor variabilidad frente a su no uso en un caso concreto de ciru[CA] La segmentació d'imatges és, al costat del registre multimodal i monomodal, l'operació amb major aplicabilitat en tractament digital d'imatge mèdica. Són multitud les operacions i filtres, així com les aplicacions i casuística, que comencen en la segmentació d'un teixit orgànic. El cas de segmentació del fetge en imatges radiològiques és, després del cervell, la que major nombre de publicacions científiques podem trobar. Això és degut per una banda a la necessitat de seguir innovant en els algoritmes ja existents i per un altre a la gran aplicabilitat que té en moltes situacions relacionades amb el diagnòstic, tractament i seguiment de patologies hepàtiques però també per a la planificació clínica de les mateixes. En el cas d'imatges de ressonància magnètica, només en els últims anys han aparegut solucions que aconsegueixen bons resultats quant a precisió i robustesa en la segmentació del fetge. No obstant això aquests algoritmes, en general són poc utilitzables en l'ambient clínic. En el cas d'imatges de tomografia computeritzada trobem molta més varietat de metodologies i solucions proposades però és difícil trobar un equilibri entre precisió i ús pràctic clínic. És per això que per millorar l'estat de l'art en els dos casos (imatges de ressonància magnètica i tomografia computeritzada) en aquesta tesi s'ha plantejat una metodologia comuna a l'hora de dissenyar i desenvolupar dos algoritmes de segmentació del fetge en les esmentades modalitats d'imatges anatòmiques. El segon pas ha estat la validació de tots dos algoritmes. En el cas d'imatges de tomografia computeritzada hi ha bases de dades públiques amb imatges segmentades manualment per experts i que la comunitat científica sol utilitzar com a nexe comú a l'hora de validar i posteriorment comparar els seus algoritmes. La validació es fa mitjançant l'obtenció de determinats coeficients de similitud entre la imatge segmentada manualment pels experts i les que ens proporciona l'algoritme. Aquesta forma de validar la precisió de l'algoritme ha estat la seguida en aquesta tesi, amb l'excepció que en el cas d'imatges de ressonància magnètica no hi ha bases de dades d'accés públic. Per això, i per a aquest cas, el que s'ha fet és la creació prèvia d'una base de dades pròpia on diferents experts radiòlegs han segmentat manualment diferents estudis de pacients amb la finalitat que puguen servir com a referència i es puga seguir la mateixa metodologia que en el cas anterior. Aquesta base de dades ha fet possible que la validació es faja en 17 estudis (amb més de 1.500 imatges), cosa que converteix la validació d'aquest mètode de segmentació del fetge en imatges de ressonància magnètica en una de les més extenses publicades fins a la data. La validació i posterior comparació han deixat patent una precisió superior al 90 \% reflectit en el coeficient de \ textit {Jaccard} i \ textit {Dice}, molt d'acord amb valors publicats per la immensa majoria d'autors en que s'ha pogut comparar. No obstant això, i en general, els algoritmes plantejats en aquesta tesi han obtingut uns criteris d'ús molt més grans, ja que en general presenten menors costos de computació, una interacció clínica quasi nul·la i una iniciació nul·la en el cas de l'algoritme de ressonància magnètica i quasi nul·la en el cas d'algoritmes de tomografia computeritzada. En aquesta tesi, també s'ha abordat un tercer punt que fa ús dels resultats obtinguts en la segmentació del fetge en imatges de ressonància magnètica. Per a això, i fent ús d'algoritmes de realitat augmentada, s'ha dissenyat i validat un estudi real innocu i no invasiu per al clínic i per al pacient on s'ha demostrat que la utilització d'aquesta tecnologia reporta més beneficis pel que fa a major precisió i menor variabilitat enfront del seu no ús en un cas concret de cirurgia amb laparoscòpia.López Mir, F. (2015). Advanced techniques in medical image segmentation of the liver [Tesis doctoral]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/59428TESISPremios Extraordinarios de tesis doctoralesCompendi

Liver segmentation in MRI: a fully automatic method based on stochastic partitions

There are few fully automated methods for liver segmentation in magnetic resonance images (MRI) despite the benefits of this type of acquisition in comparison to other radiology techniques such as computed tomography (CT). Motivated by medical requirements, liver segmentation in MRI has been carried out. For this purpose, we present a new method for liver segmentation based on the watershed transform and stochastic partitions. The classical watershed over-segmentation is reduced using a marker-controlled algorithm. To improve accuracy of selected contours, the gradient of the original image is successfully enhanced by applying a new variant of stochastic watershed. Moreover, a final classifier is performed in order to obtain the final liver mask. Optimal parameters of the method are tuned using a training dataset and then they are applied to the rest of studies (17 datasets). The obtained results (a Jaccard coefficient of 0.91 +/- 0.02) in comparison to other methods demonstrate that the new variant of stochastic watershed is a robust tool for automatic segmentation of the liver in MRI. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.This work has been supported by the MITYC under the project NaRALap (ref. TSI-020100-2009-189), partially by the CDTI under the project ONCOTIC (IDI-20101153), by Ministerio de Educacion y Ciencia Spain, Project Game Teen (TIN2010-20187) projects Consolider-C (SEJ2006-14301/PSIC), "CIBER of Physiopathology of Obesity and Nutrition, an initiative of ISCIII" and Excellence Research Program PROMETEO (Generalitat Valenciana. Conselleria de Educacion, 2008-157). We would like to express our gratitude to the Hospital Clinica Benidorm, for providing the MR datasets and to the radiologist team of Inscanner for the manual segmentation of the MR images.López-Mir, F.; Naranjo Ornedo, V.; Angulo, J.; Alcañiz Raya, ML.; Luna, L. (2014). Liver segmentation in MRI: a fully automatic method based on stochastic partitions. Computer Methods and Programs in Biomedicine. 114(1):11-28. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cmpb.2013.12.022S1128114

Automatic Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm segmentation in MR images

Abdominal Aortic Aneurism is a disease related to a weakening in the aortic wall that can cause a break in the aorta and the death. The detection of an unusual dilatation of a section of the aorta is an indicative of this disease. However, it is difficult to diagnose because it is necessary image diagnosis using computed tomography or magnetic resonance. An automatic diagnosis system would allow to analyze abdominal magnetic resonance images and to warn doctors if any anomaly is detected. We focus our research in magnetic resonance images because of the absence of ionizing radiation. Although there are proposals to identify this disease in magnetic resonance images, they need an intervention from clinicians to be precise and some of them are computationally hard. In this paper we develop a novel approach to analyze magnetic resonance abdominal images and detect the lumen and the aortic wall. The method combines different algorithms in two stages to improve the detection and the segmentation so it can be applied to similar problems with other type of images or structures. In a first stage, we use a spatial fuzzy C-means algorithm with morphological image analysis to detect and segment the lumen; and subsequently, in a second stage, we apply a graph cut algorithm to segment the aortic wall. The obtained results in the analyzed images are pretty successful obtaining an average of 79% of overlapping between the automatic segmentation provided by our method and the aortic wall identified by a medical specialist. The main impact of the proposed method is that it works in a completely automatic way with a low computational cost, which is of great significance for any expert and intelligent system

Advancements and Breakthroughs in Ultrasound Imaging

Ultrasonic imaging is a powerful diagnostic tool available to medical practitioners, engineers and researchers today. Due to the relative safety, and the non-invasive nature, ultrasonic imaging has become one of the most rapidly advancing technologies. These rapid advances are directly related to the parallel advancements in electronics, computing, and transducer technology together with sophisticated signal processing techniques. This book focuses on state of the art developments in ultrasonic imaging applications and underlying technologies presented by leading practitioners and researchers from many parts of the world

Navigation system based in motion tracking sensor for percutaneous renal access

Tese de Doutoramento em Engenharia BiomédicaMinimally-invasive kidney interventions are daily performed to diagnose and treat several renal diseases. Percutaneous renal access (PRA) is an essential but challenging stage for most of these procedures, since its outcome is directly linked to the physician’s ability to precisely visualize and reach the anatomical target. Nowadays, PRA is always guided with medical imaging assistance, most frequently using X-ray based imaging (e.g. fluoroscopy). Thus, radiation on the surgical theater represents a major risk to the medical team, where its exclusion from PRA has a direct impact diminishing the dose exposure on both patients and physicians. To solve the referred problems this thesis aims to develop a new hardware/software framework to intuitively and safely guide the surgeon during PRA planning and puncturing. In terms of surgical planning, a set of methodologies were developed to increase the certainty of reaching a specific target inside the kidney. The most relevant abdominal structures for PRA were automatically clustered into different 3D volumes. For that, primitive volumes were merged as a local optimization problem using the minimum description length principle and image statistical properties. A multi-volume Ray Cast method was then used to highlight each segmented volume. Results show that it is possible to detect all abdominal structures surrounding the kidney, with the ability to correctly estimate a virtual trajectory. Concerning the percutaneous puncturing stage, either an electromagnetic or optical solution were developed and tested in multiple in vitro, in vivo and ex vivo trials. The optical tracking solution aids in establishing the desired puncture site and choosing the best virtual puncture trajectory. However, this system required a line of sight to different optical markers placed at the needle base, limiting the accuracy when tracking inside the human body. Results show that the needle tip can deflect from its initial straight line trajectory with an error higher than 3 mm. Moreover, a complex registration procedure and initial setup is needed. On the other hand, a real-time electromagnetic tracking was developed. Hereto, a catheter was inserted trans-urethrally towards the renal target. This catheter has a position and orientation electromagnetic sensor on its tip that function as a real-time target locator. Then, a needle integrating a similar sensor is used. From the data provided by both sensors, one computes a virtual puncture trajectory, which is displayed in a 3D visualization software. In vivo tests showed a median renal and ureteral puncture times of 19 and 51 seconds, respectively (range 14 to 45 and 45 to 67 seconds). Such results represent a puncture time improvement between 75% and 85% when comparing to state of the art methods. 3D sound and vibrotactile feedback were also developed to provide additional information about the needle orientation. By using these kind of feedback, it was verified that the surgeon tends to follow a virtual puncture trajectory with a reduced amount of deviations from the ideal trajectory, being able to anticipate any movement even without looking to a monitor. Best results show that 3D sound sources were correctly identified 79.2 ± 8.1% of times with an average angulation error of 10.4º degrees. Vibration sources were accurately identified 91.1 ± 3.6% of times with an average angulation error of 8.0º degrees. Additionally to the EMT framework, three circular ultrasound transducers were built with a needle working channel. One explored different manufacture fabrication setups in terms of the piezoelectric materials, transducer construction, single vs. multi array configurations, backing and matching material design. The A-scan signals retrieved from each transducer were filtered and processed to automatically detect reflected echoes and to alert the surgeon when undesirable anatomical structures are in between the puncture path. The transducers were mapped in a water tank and tested in a study involving 45 phantoms. Results showed that the beam cross-sectional area oscillates around the ceramics radius and it was possible to automatically detect echo signals in phantoms with length higher than 80 mm. Hereupon, it is expected that the introduction of the proposed system on the PRA procedure, will allow to guide the surgeon through the optimal path towards the precise kidney target, increasing surgeon’s confidence and reducing complications (e.g. organ perforation) during PRA. Moreover, the developed framework has the potential to make the PRA free of radiation for both patient and surgeon and to broad the use of PRA to less specialized surgeons.Intervenções renais minimamente invasivas são realizadas diariamente para o tratamento e diagnóstico de várias doenças renais. O acesso renal percutâneo (ARP) é uma etapa essencial e desafiante na maior parte destes procedimentos. O seu resultado encontra-se diretamente relacionado com a capacidade do cirurgião visualizar e atingir com precisão o alvo anatómico. Hoje em dia, o ARP é sempre guiado com recurso a sistemas imagiológicos, na maior parte das vezes baseados em raios-X (p.e. a fluoroscopia). A radiação destes sistemas nas salas cirúrgicas representa um grande risco para a equipa médica, aonde a sua remoção levará a um impacto direto na diminuição da dose exposta aos pacientes e cirurgiões. De modo a resolver os problemas existentes, esta tese tem como objetivo o desenvolvimento de uma framework de hardware/software que permita, de forma intuitiva e segura, guiar o cirurgião durante o planeamento e punção do ARP. Em termos de planeamento, foi desenvolvido um conjunto de metodologias de modo a aumentar a eficácia com que o alvo anatómico é alcançado. As estruturas abdominais mais relevantes para o procedimento de ARP, foram automaticamente agrupadas em volumes 3D, através de um problema de optimização global com base no princípio de “minimum description length” e propriedades estatísticas da imagem. Por fim, um procedimento de Ray Cast, com múltiplas funções de transferência, foi utilizado para enfatizar as estruturas segmentadas. Os resultados mostram que é possível detetar todas as estruturas abdominais envolventes ao rim, com a capacidade para estimar corretamente uma trajetória virtual. No que diz respeito à fase de punção percutânea, foram testadas duas soluções de deteção de movimento (ótica e eletromagnética) em múltiplos ensaios in vitro, in vivo e ex vivo. A solução baseada em sensores óticos ajudou no cálculo do melhor ponto de punção e na definição da melhor trajetória a seguir. Contudo, este sistema necessita de uma linha de visão com diferentes marcadores óticos acoplados à base da agulha, limitando a precisão com que a agulha é detetada no interior do corpo humano. Os resultados indicam que a agulha pode sofrer deflexões à medida que vai sendo inserida, com erros superiores a 3 mm. Por outro lado, foi desenvolvida e testada uma solução com base em sensores eletromagnéticos. Para tal, um cateter que integra um sensor de posição e orientação na sua ponta, foi colocado por via trans-uretral junto do alvo renal. De seguida, uma agulha, integrando um sensor semelhante, é utilizada para a punção percutânea. A partir da diferença espacial de ambos os sensores, é possível gerar uma trajetória de punção virtual. A mediana do tempo necessário para puncionar o rim e ureter, segundo esta trajetória, foi de 19 e 51 segundos, respetivamente (variações de 14 a 45 e 45 a 67 segundos). Estes resultados representam uma melhoria do tempo de punção entre 75% e 85%, quando comparados com o estado da arte dos métodos atuais. Além do feedback visual, som 3D e feedback vibratório foram explorados de modo a fornecer informações complementares da posição da agulha. Verificou-se que com este tipo de feedback, o cirurgião tende a seguir uma trajetória de punção com desvios mínimos, sendo igualmente capaz de antecipar qualquer movimento, mesmo sem olhar para o monitor. Fontes de som e vibração podem ser corretamente detetadas em 79,2 ± 8,1% e 91,1 ± 3,6%, com erros médios de angulação de 10.4º e 8.0 graus, respetivamente. Adicionalmente ao sistema de navegação, foram também produzidos três transdutores de ultrassom circulares com um canal de trabalho para a agulha. Para tal, foram exploradas diferentes configurações de fabricação em termos de materiais piezoelétricos, transdutores multi-array ou singulares e espessura/material de layers de suporte. Os sinais originados em cada transdutor foram filtrados e processados de modo a detetar de forma automática os ecos refletidos, e assim, alertar o cirurgião quando existem variações anatómicas ao longo do caminho de punção. Os transdutores foram mapeados num tanque de água e testados em 45 phantoms. Os resultados mostraram que o feixe de área em corte transversal oscila em torno do raio de cerâmica, e que os ecos refletidos são detetados em phantoms com comprimentos superiores a 80 mm. Desta forma, é expectável que a introdução deste novo sistema a nível do ARP permitirá conduzir o cirurgião ao longo do caminho de punção ideal, aumentado a confiança do cirurgião e reduzindo possíveis complicações (p.e. a perfuração dos órgãos). Além disso, de realçar que este sistema apresenta o potencial de tornar o ARP livre de radiação e alarga-lo a cirurgiões menos especializados.The present work was only possible thanks to the support by the Portuguese Science and Technology Foundation through the PhD grant with reference SFRH/BD/74276/2010 funded by FCT/MEC (PIDDAC) and by Fundo Europeu de Desenvolvimento Regional (FEDER), Programa COMPETE - Programa Operacional Factores de Competitividade (POFC) do QREN

Segmentation and Deformable Modelling Techniques for a Virtual Reality Surgical Simulator in Hepatic Oncology

Liver surgical resection is one of the most frequently used curative therapies. However, resectability is problematic. There is a need for a computer-assisted surgical planning and simulation system which can accurately and efficiently simulate the liver, vessels and tumours in actual patients. The present project describes the development of these core segmentation and deformable modelling techniques. For precise detection of irregularly shaped areas with indistinct boundaries, the segmentation incorporated active contours - gradient vector flow (GVF) snakes and level sets. To improve efficiency, a chessboard distance transform was used to replace part of the GVF effort. To automatically initialize the liver volume detection process, a rotating template was introduced to locate the starting slice. For shape maintenance during the segmentation process, a simplified object shape learning step was introduced to avoid occasional significant errors. Skeletonization with fuzzy connectedness was used for vessel segmentation. To achieve real-time interactivity, the deformation regime of this system was based on a single-organ mass-spring system (MSS), which introduced an on-the-fly local mesh refinement to raise the deformation accuracy and the mesh control quality. This method was now extended to a multiple soft-tissue constraint system, by supplementing it with an adaptive constraint mesh generation. A mesh quality measure was tailored based on a wide comparison of classic measures. Adjustable feature and parameter settings were thus provided, to make tissues of interest distinct from adjacent structures, keeping the mesh suitable for on-line topological transformation and deformation. More than 20 actual patient CT and 2 magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) liver datasets were tested to evaluate the performance of the segmentation method. Instrument manipulations of probing, grasping, and simple cutting were successfully simulated on deformable constraint liver tissue models. This project was implemented in conjunction with the Division of Surgery, Hammersmith Hospital, London; the preliminary reality effect was judged satisfactory by the consultant hepatic surgeon

Differential geometry methods for biomedical image processing : from segmentation to 2D/3D registration

This thesis establishes a biomedical image analysis framework for the advanced visualization of biological structures. It consists of two important parts: 1) the segmentation of some structures of interest in 3D medical scans, and 2) the registration of patient-specific 3D models with 2D interventional images. Segmenting biological structures results in 3D computational models that are simple to visualize and that can be analyzed quantitatively. Registering a 3D model with interventional images permits to position the 3D model within the physical world. By combining the information from a 3D model and 2D interventional images, the proposed framework can improve the guidance of surgical intervention by reducing the ambiguities inherent to the interpretation of 2D images. Two specific segmentation problems are considered: 1) the segmentation of large structures with low frequency intensity nonuniformity, and 2) the detection of fine curvilinear structures. First, we directed our attention toward the segmentation of relatively large structures with low frequency intensity nonuniformity. Such structures are important in medical imaging since they are commonly encountered in MRI. Also, the nonuniform diffusion of the contrast agent in some other modalities, such as CTA, leads to structures of nonuniform appearance. A level-set method that uses a local-linear region model is defined, and applied to the challenging problem of segmenting brain tissues in MRI. The unique characteristics of the proposed method permit to account for important image nonuniformity implicitly. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time a region-based level-set model has been used to perform the segmentation of real world MRI brain scans with convincing results. The second segmentation problem considered is the detection of fine curvilinear structures in 3D medical images. Detecting those structures is crucial since they can represent veins, arteries, bronchi or other important tissues. Unfortunately, most currently available curvilinear structure detection filters incur significant signal lost at bifurcations of two structures. This peculiarity limits the performance of all subsequent processes, whether it be understanding an angiography acquisition, computing an accurate tractography, or automatically classifying the image voxels. This thesis presents a new curvilinear structure detection filter that is robust to the presence of X- and Y-junctions. At the same time, it is conceptually simple and deterministic, and allows for an intuitive representation of the structure’s principal directions. Once a 3D computational model is available, it can be used to enhance surgical guidance. A 2D/3D non-rigid method is proposed that brings a 3D centerline model of the coronary arteries into correspondence with bi-plane fluoroscopic angiograms. The registered model is overlaid on top of the interventional angiograms to provide surgical assistance during image-guided chronic total occlusion procedures, which reduces the uncertainty inherent in 2D interventional images. A fully non-rigid registration model is proposed and used to compensate for any local shape discrepancy. This method is based on a variational framework, and uses a simultaneous matching and reconstruction process. With a typical run time of less than 3 seconds, the algorithms are fast enough for interactive applications

Patterns of injury and violence in Yaoundé Cameroon: an analysis of hospital data.

BackgroundInjuries are quickly becoming a leading cause of death globally, disproportionately affecting sub-Saharan Africa, where reports on the epidemiology of injuries are extremely limited. Reports on the patterns and frequency of injuries are available from Cameroon are also scarce. This study explores the patterns of trauma seen at the emergency ward of the busiest trauma center in Cameroon's capital city.Materials and methodsAdministrative records from January 1, 2007, through December 31, 2007, were retrospectively reviewed; information on age, gender, mechanism of injury, and outcome was abstracted for all trauma patients presenting to the emergency ward. Univariate analysis was performed to assess patterns of injuries in terms of mechanism, date, age, and gender. Bivariate analysis was used to explore potential relationships between demographic variables and mechanism of injury.ResultsA total of 6,234 injured people were seen at the Central Hospital of Yaoundé's emergency ward during the year 2007. Males comprised 71% of those injured, and the mean age of injured patients was 29 years (SD = 14.9). Nearly 60% of the injuries were due to road traffic accidents, 46% of which involved a pedestrian. Intentional injuries were the second most common mechanism of injury (22.5%), 55% of which involved unarmed assault. Patients injured in falls were more likely to be admitted to the hospital (p < 0.001), whereas patients suffering intentional injuries and bites were less likely to be hospitalized (p < 0.001). Males were significantly more likely to be admitted than females (p < 0.001)DiscussionPatterns in terms of age, gender, and mechanism of injury are similar to reports from other countries from the same geographic region, but the magnitude of cases reported is high for a single institution in an African city the size of Yaoundé. As the burden of disease is predicted to increase dramatically in sub-Saharan Africa, immediate efforts in prevention and treatment in Cameroon are strongly warranted