5,178 research outputs found
An Unsupervised Learning Model for Deformable Medical Image Registration
We present a fast learning-based algorithm for deformable, pairwise 3D
medical image registration. Current registration methods optimize an objective
function independently for each pair of images, which can be time-consuming for
large data. We define registration as a parametric function, and optimize its
parameters given a set of images from a collection of interest. Given a new
pair of scans, we can quickly compute a registration field by directly
evaluating the function using the learned parameters. We model this function
using a convolutional neural network (CNN), and use a spatial transform layer
to reconstruct one image from another while imposing smoothness constraints on
the registration field. The proposed method does not require supervised
information such as ground truth registration fields or anatomical landmarks.
We demonstrate registration accuracy comparable to state-of-the-art 3D image
registration, while operating orders of magnitude faster in practice. Our
method promises to significantly speed up medical image analysis and processing
pipelines, while facilitating novel directions in learning-based registration
and its applications. Our code is available at
https://github.com/balakg/voxelmorph .Comment: 9 pages, in CVPR 201
Mesh-to-raster based non-rigid registration of multi-modal images
Region of interest (ROI) alignment in medical images plays a crucial role in
diagnostics, procedure planning, treatment, and follow-up. Frequently, a model
is represented as triangulated mesh while the patient data is provided from CAT
scanners as pixel or voxel data. Previously, we presented a 2D method for
curve-to-pixel registration. This paper contributes (i) a general
mesh-to-raster (M2R) framework to register ROIs in multi-modal images; (ii) a
3D surface-to-voxel application, and (iii) a comprehensive quantitative
evaluation in 2D using ground truth provided by the simultaneous truth and
performance level estimation (STAPLE) method. The registration is formulated as
a minimization problem where the objective consists of a data term, which
involves the signed distance function of the ROI from the reference image, and
a higher order elastic regularizer for the deformation. The evaluation is based
on quantitative light-induced fluoroscopy (QLF) and digital photography (DP) of
decalcified teeth. STAPLE is computed on 150 image pairs from 32 subjects, each
showing one corresponding tooth in both modalities. The ROI in each image is
manually marked by three experts (900 curves in total). In the QLF-DP setting,
our approach significantly outperforms the mutual information-based
registration algorithm implemented with the Insight Segmentation and
Registration Toolkit (ITK) and Elastix
A Deep Learning Framework for Unsupervised Affine and Deformable Image Registration
Image registration, the process of aligning two or more images, is the core
technique of many (semi-)automatic medical image analysis tasks. Recent studies
have shown that deep learning methods, notably convolutional neural networks
(ConvNets), can be used for image registration. Thus far training of ConvNets
for registration was supervised using predefined example registrations.
However, obtaining example registrations is not trivial. To circumvent the need
for predefined examples, and thereby to increase convenience of training
ConvNets for image registration, we propose the Deep Learning Image
Registration (DLIR) framework for \textit{unsupervised} affine and deformable
image registration. In the DLIR framework ConvNets are trained for image
registration by exploiting image similarity analogous to conventional
intensity-based image registration. After a ConvNet has been trained with the
DLIR framework, it can be used to register pairs of unseen images in one shot.
We propose flexible ConvNets designs for affine image registration and for
deformable image registration. By stacking multiple of these ConvNets into a
larger architecture, we are able to perform coarse-to-fine image registration.
We show for registration of cardiac cine MRI and registration of chest CT that
performance of the DLIR framework is comparable to conventional image
registration while being several orders of magnitude faster.Comment: Accepted: Medical Image Analysis - Elsevie
Computerized Analysis of Magnetic Resonance Images to Study Cerebral Anatomy in Developing Neonates
The study of cerebral anatomy in developing neonates is of great importance for
the understanding of brain development during the early period of life. This
dissertation therefore focuses on three challenges in the modelling of cerebral
anatomy in neonates during brain development. The methods that have been
developed all use Magnetic Resonance Images (MRI) as source data.
To facilitate study of vascular development in the neonatal period, a set of image
analysis algorithms are developed to automatically extract and model cerebral
vessel trees. The whole process consists of cerebral vessel tracking from
automatically placed seed points, vessel tree generation, and vasculature
registration and matching. These algorithms have been tested on clinical Time-of-
Flight (TOF) MR angiographic datasets.
To facilitate study of the neonatal cortex a complete cerebral cortex segmentation
and reconstruction pipeline has been developed. Segmentation of the neonatal
cortex is not effectively done by existing algorithms designed for the adult brain
because the contrast between grey and white matter is reversed. This causes pixels
containing tissue mixtures to be incorrectly labelled by conventional methods. The
neonatal cortical segmentation method that has been developed is based on a novel
expectation-maximization (EM) method with explicit correction for mislabelled
partial volume voxels. Based on the resulting cortical segmentation, an implicit
surface evolution technique is adopted for the reconstruction of the cortex in
neonates. The performance of the method is investigated by performing a detailed
landmark study.
To facilitate study of cortical development, a cortical surface registration algorithm
for aligning the cortical surface is developed. The method first inflates extracted
cortical surfaces and then performs a non-rigid surface registration using free-form
deformations (FFDs) to remove residual alignment. Validation experiments using
data labelled by an expert observer demonstrate that the method can capture local
changes and follow the growth of specific sulcus
Medical image computing and computer-aided medical interventions applied to soft tissues. Work in progress in urology
Until recently, Computer-Aided Medical Interventions (CAMI) and Medical
Robotics have focused on rigid and non deformable anatomical structures.
Nowadays, special attention is paid to soft tissues, raising complex issues due
to their mobility and deformation. Mini-invasive digestive surgery was probably
one of the first fields where soft tissues were handled through the development
of simulators, tracking of anatomical structures and specific assistance
robots. However, other clinical domains, for instance urology, are concerned.
Indeed, laparoscopic surgery, new tumour destruction techniques (e.g. HIFU,
radiofrequency, or cryoablation), increasingly early detection of cancer, and
use of interventional and diagnostic imaging modalities, recently opened new
challenges to the urologist and scientists involved in CAMI. This resulted in
the last five years in a very significant increase of research and developments
of computer-aided urology systems. In this paper, we propose a description of
the main problems related to computer-aided diagnostic and therapy of soft
tissues and give a survey of the different types of assistance offered to the
urologist: robotization, image fusion, surgical navigation. Both research
projects and operational industrial systems are discussed
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