7 research outputs found
Echocardiography
The book "Echocardiography - New Techniques" brings worldwide contributions from highly acclaimed clinical and imaging science investigators, and representatives from academic medical centers. Each chapter is designed and written to be accessible to those with a basic knowledge of echocardiography. Additionally, the chapters are meant to be stimulating and educational to the experts and investigators in the field of echocardiography. This book is aimed primarily at cardiology fellows on their basic echocardiography rotation, fellows in general internal medicine, radiology and emergency medicine, and experts in the arena of echocardiography. Over the last few decades, the rate of technological advancements has developed dramatically, resulting in new techniques and improved echocardiographic imaging. The authors of this book focused on presenting the most advanced techniques useful in today's research and in daily clinical practice. These advanced techniques are utilized in the detection of different cardiac pathologies in patients, in contributing to their clinical decision, as well as follow-up and outcome predictions. In addition to the advanced techniques covered, this book expounds upon several special pathologies with respect to the functions of echocardiography
Cardiac Image Segmentation from Cine Cardiac MRI Using Graph Cuts and Shape Priors
In this paper, we propose a novel method for segmentation of the left ventricle, right ventricle, and myocardium from cine cardiac magnetic resonance images of the STACOM database. Our method incorporates prior shape information in a graph cut framework to achieve segmentation. Poor edge information and large within-patient shape variation of the different parts necessitates the inclusion of prior shape information. But large interpatient shape variability makes it difficult to have a generalized shape model. Therefore, for every dataset the shape prior is chosen as a single image clearly showing the different parts. Prior shape information is obtained from a combination of distance functions and orientation angle histograms of each pixel relative to the prior shape. To account for shape changes, pixels near the boundary are allowed to change their labels by appropriate formulation of the penalty and smoothness costs. Our method consists of two stages. In the first stage, segmentation is performed using only intensity information which is the starting point for the second stage combining intensity and shape information to get the final segmentation. Experimental results on different subsets of 30 real patient datasets show higher segmentation accuracy in using shape information and our method's superior performance over other competing method
3D cine DENSE MRI: ventricular segmentation and myocardial stratin analysis
Includes abstract.
Includes bibliographical references
Fast fully automatic myocardial segmentation in 4D cine cardiac magnetic resonance datasets
Dissertação de mestrado integrado em Engenharia BiomédicaCardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the leading cause of death in the world, representing
30% of all global deaths. Among others, assessment of the left ventricular (LV) morphology and
global function using non-invasive cardiac imaging is an interesting technique for diagnosis and
treatment follow-up of patients with CVDs. Nowadays, cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR)
imaging is the gold-standard technique for the quantification of LV volumes, mass and ejection
fraction, requiring the delineation of endocardial and epicardial contours of the left ventricle from
cine MR images. In clinical practice, the physicians perform this segmentation manually, being a
tedious, time consuming and unpractical task. Even though several (semi-)automated methods
have been presented for LV CMR segmentation, fast, automatic and optimal boundaries
assessment is still lacking, usually requiring the physician to manually correct the contours.
In the present work, we propose a novel fast fully automatic 3D+time LV segmentation
framework for CMR datasets. The proposed framework presents three conceptual blocks: 1) an
automatic 2D mid-ventricular initialization and segmentation; 2) an automatic stack initialization
followed by a 3D segmentation at the end-diastolic phase; and 3) a tracking procedure to
delineate both endo and epicardial contours throughout the cardiac cycle. In each block, specific
CMR-targeted algorithms are proposed for the different steps required. Hereto, we propose
automatic and feasible initialization procedures. Moreover, we adapt the recent B-spline Explicit
Active Surfaces (BEAS) framework to the properties of CMR image segmentation by integrating
dedicated energy terms and making use of a cylindrical coordinate system that better fits the
topology of CMR data. At last, two tracking methods are presented and compared.
The proposed framework has been validated on 45 4D CMR datasets from a publicly
available database and on a large database from an ongoing multi-center clinical trial with 318
4D datasets. In the technical validation, the framework showed competitive results against the
state-of-the-art methods, presenting leading results in both accuracy and average computational
time in the common database used for comparative purposes. Moreover, the results in the large
scale clinical validation confirmed the high feasibility and robustness of the proposed framework
for accurate LV morphology and global function assessment. In combination with the low
computational burden of the method, the present methodology seems promising to be used in
daily clinical practice.As doenças cardiovasculares (DCVs) são a principal causa de morte no mundo,
representando 30% destas a nível global. Na prática clínica, uma técnica empregue no
diagnóstico de pacientes com DCVs é a avaliação da morfologia e da função global do ventrículo
esquerdo (VE), através de técnicas de imagiologia não-invasivas. Atualmente, a ressonância
magnética cardíaca (RMC) é a modalidade de referência na quantificação dos volumes, massa e
fração de ejeção do VE, exigindo a delimitação dos contornos do endocárdio e epicárdio a partir
de imagens dinâmicas de RMC. Na prática clínica diária, o método preferencial é a segmentação
manual. No entanto, esta é uma tarefa demorada, sujeita a erro humano e pouco prática. Apesar
de até à data diversos métodos (semi)-automáticos terem sido apresentados para a
segmentação do VE em imagens de RMC, ainda não existe um método capaz de avaliar
idealmente os contornos de uma forma automática, rápida e precisa, levando a que geralmente
o médico necessite de corrigir manualmente os contornos.
No presente trabalho é proposta uma nova framework para a segmentação automática
do VE em imagens 3D+tempo de RMC. O algoritmo apresenta três blocos principais: 1) uma
inicialização e segmentação automática 2D num corte medial do ventrículo; 2) uma inicialização
e segmentação tridimensional no volume correspondente ao final da diástole; e 3) um algoritmo
de tracking para obter os contornos ao longo de todo o ciclo cardíaco. Neste sentido, são
propostos procedimentos de inicialização automática com elevada robustez. Mais ainda, é
proposta uma adaptação da recente framework “B-spline Explicit Active Surfaces” (BEAS) com a
integração de uma energia específica para as imagens de RMC e utilizando uma formulação
cilíndrica para tirar partido da topologia destas imagens. Por último, são apresentados e
comparados dois algoritmos de tracking para a obtenção dos contornos ao longo do tempo.
A framework proposta foi validada em 45 datasets de RMC provenientes de uma base de
dados disponível ao público, bem como numa extensa base de dados com 318 datasets para
uma validação clínica. Na avaliação técnica, a framework proposta obteve resultados
competitivos quando comparada com outros métodos do estado da arte, tendo alcançado
resultados de precisão e tempo computacional superiores a estes. Na validação clínica em larga
escala, a framework provou apresentar elevada viabilidade e robustez na avaliação da morfologia
e função global do VE. Em combinação com o baixo custo computacional do algoritmo, a
presente metodologia apresenta uma perspetiva promissora para a sua aplicação na prática
clínica diária
An image segmentation and registration approach to cardiac function analysis using MRI
Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are one of the major causes of death in the world. In recent
years, significant progress has been made in the care and treatment of patients with such
diseases. A crucial factor for this progress has been the development of magnetic resonance
(MR) imaging which makes it possible to diagnose and assess the cardiovascular function
of the patient. The ability to obtain high-resolution, cine volume images easily and safely
has made it the preferred method for diagnosis of CVDs. MRI is also unique in its ability
to introduce noninvasive markers directly into the tissue being imaged(MR tagging) during
the image acquisition process. With the development of advanced MR imaging acquisition
technologies, 3D MR imaging is more and more clinically feasible. This recent development has
allowed new potentially 3D image analysis technologies to be deployed. However, quantitative
analysis of cardiovascular system from the images remains a challenging topic.
The work presented in this thesis describes the development of segmentation and motion
analysis techniques for the study of the cardiac anatomy and function in cardiac magnetic
resonance (CMR) images. The first main contribution of the thesis is the development of a fully
automatic cardiac segmentation technique that integrates and combines a series of state-of-the-art
techniques. The proposed segmentation technique is capable of generating an accurate 3D
segmentation from multiple image sequences. The proposed segmentation technique is robust
even in the presence of pathological changes, large anatomical shape variations and locally
varying contrast in the images.
Another main contribution of this thesis is the development of motion tracking techniques that
can integrate motion information from different sources. For example, the radial motion of
the myocardium can be tracked easily in untagged MR imaging since the epi- and endocardial
surfaces are clearly visible. On the other hand, tagged MR imaging allows easy tracking of
both longitudinal and circumferential motion. We propose a novel technique based on non-rigid
image registration for the myocardial motion estimation using both untagged and 3D tagged MR
images. The novel aspect of our technique is its simultaneous use of complementary information
from both untagged and 3D tagged MR imaging. The similarity measure is spatially weighted
to maximise the utility of information from both images.
The thesis also proposes a sparse representation for free-form deformations (FFDs) using the principles of compressed sensing. The sparse free-form deformation (SFFD) model can
capture fine local details such as motion discontinuities without sacrificing robustness. We
demonstrate the capabilities of the proposed framework to accurately estimate smooth as well
as discontinuous deformations in 2D and 3D CMR image sequences. Compared to the standard
FFD approach, a significant increase in registration accuracy can be observed in datasets with
discontinuous motion patterns.
Both the segmentation and motion tracking techniques presented in this thesis have been
applied to clinical studies. We focus on two important clinical applications that can be
addressed by the techniques proposed in this thesis. The first clinical application aims
at measuring longitudinal changes in cardiac morphology and function during the cardiac
remodelling process. The second clinical application aims at selecting patients that positively
respond to cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT).
The final chapter of this thesis summarises the main conclusions that can be drawn from the
work presented here and also discusses possible avenues for future research
Automatic whole heart segmentation based on image registration
Whole heart segmentation can provide important morphological information of the heart, potentially
enabling the development of new clinical applications and the planning and guidance
of cardiac interventional procedures. This information can be extracted from medical images,
such as these of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), which is becoming a routine modality
for the determination of cardiac morphology. Since manual delineation is labour intensive and
subject to observer variation, it is highly desirable to develop an automatic method. However,
automating the process is complicated by the large shape variation of the heart and limited
quality of the data. The aim of this work is to develop an automatic and robust segmentation
framework from cardiac MRI while overcoming these difficulties.
The main challenge of this segmentation is initialisation of the substructures and inclusion
of shape constraints. We propose the locally affine registration method (LARM) and the freeform
deformations with adaptive control point status to tackle the challenge. They are applied
to the atlas propagation based segmentation framework, where the multi-stage scheme is used to
hierarchically increase the degree of freedom. In this segmentation framework, it is also needed
to compute the inverse transformation for the LARM registration. Therefore, we propose a
generic method, using Dynamic Resampling And distance Weighted interpolation (DRAW), for
inverting dense displacements. The segmentation framework is validated on a clinical dataset
which includes nine pathologies.
To further improve the nonrigid registration against local intensity distortions in the images,
we propose a generalised spatial information encoding scheme and the spatial information
encoded mutual information (SIEMI) registration. SIEMI registration is applied to the segmentation
framework to improve the accuracy. Furthermore, to demonstrate the general applicability
of SIEMI registration, we apply it to the registration of cardiac MRI, brain MRI, and the
contrast enhanced MRI of the liver. SIEMI registration is shown to perform well and achieve
significantly better accuracy compared to the registration using normalised mutual information
Medical Informatics and Data Analysis
During recent years, the use of advanced data analysis methods has increased in clinical and epidemiological research. This book emphasizes the practical aspects of new data analysis methods, and provides insight into new challenges in biostatistics, epidemiology, health sciences, dentistry, and clinical medicine. This book provides a readable text, giving advice on the reporting of new data analytical methods and data presentation. The book consists of 13 articles. Each article is self-contained and may be read independently according to the needs of the reader. The book is essential reading for postgraduate students as well as researchers from medicine and other sciences where statistical data analysis plays a central role