853 research outputs found
Cube-Cut: Vertebral Body Segmentation in MRI-Data through Cubic-Shaped Divergences
In this article, we present a graph-based method using a cubic template for
volumetric segmentation of vertebrae in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
acquisitions. The user can define the degree of deviation from a regular cube
via a smoothness value Delta. The Cube-Cut algorithm generates a directed graph
with two terminal nodes (s-t-network), where the nodes of the graph correspond
to a cubic-shaped subset of the image's voxels. The weightings of the graph's
terminal edges, which connect every node with a virtual source s or a virtual
sink t, represent the affinity of a voxel to the vertebra (source) and to the
background (sink). Furthermore, a set of infinite weighted and non-terminal
edges implements the smoothness term. After graph construction, a minimal
s-t-cut is calculated within polynomial computation time, which splits the
nodes into two disjoint units. Subsequently, the segmentation result is
determined out of the source-set. A quantitative evaluation of a C++
implementation of the algorithm resulted in an average Dice Similarity
Coefficient (DSC) of 81.33% and a running time of less than a minute.Comment: 23 figures, 2 tables, 43 references, PLoS ONE 9(4): e9338
Template-Cut: A Pattern-Based Segmentation Paradigm
We present a scale-invariant, template-based segmentation paradigm that sets
up a graph and performs a graph cut to separate an object from the background.
Typically graph-based schemes distribute the nodes of the graph uniformly and
equidistantly on the image, and use a regularizer to bias the cut towards a
particular shape. The strategy of uniform and equidistant nodes does not allow
the cut to prefer more complex structures, especially when areas of the object
are indistinguishable from the background. We propose a solution by introducing
the concept of a "template shape" of the target object in which the nodes are
sampled non-uniformly and non-equidistantly on the image. We evaluate it on
2D-images where the object's textures and backgrounds are similar, and large
areas of the object have the same gray level appearance as the background. We
also evaluate it in 3D on 60 brain tumor datasets for neurosurgical planning
purposes.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures, 3 tables, 6 equations, 51 reference
Vertebral body segmentation with GrowCut: Initial experience, workflow and practical application
In this contribution, we used the GrowCut segmentation algorithm publicly
available in three-dimensional Slicer for three-dimensional segmentation of
vertebral bodies. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that the
GrowCut method has been studied for the usage of vertebral body segmentation.
In brief, we found that the GrowCut segmentation times were consistently less
than the manual segmentation times. Hence, GrowCut provides an alternative to a
manual slice-by-slice segmentation process.Comment: 10 page
Pituitary Adenoma Volumetry with 3D Slicer
In this study, we present pituitary adenoma volumetry using the free and open source medical image computing platform for biomedical research: (3D) Slicer. Volumetric changes in cerebral pathologies like pituitary adenomas are a critical factor in treatment decisions by physicians and in general the volume is acquired manually. Therefore, manual slice-by-slice segmentations in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data, which have been obtained at regular intervals, are performed. In contrast to this manual time consuming slice-by-slice segmentation process Slicer is an alternative which can be significantly faster and less user intensive. In this contribution, we compare pure manual segmentations of ten pituitary adenomas with semi-automatic segmentations under Slicer. Thus, physicians drew the boundaries completely manually on a slice-by-slice basis and performed a Slicer-enhanced segmentation using the competitive region-growing based module of Slicer named GrowCut. Results showed that the time and user effort required for GrowCut-based segmentations were on average about thirty percent less than the pure manual segmentations. Furthermore, we calculated the Dice Similarity Coefficient (DSC) between the manual and the Slicer-based segmentations to proof that the two are comparable yielding an average DSC of 81.97±3.39%
Minutes, Arts & Sciences Student Life Committee Meeting, Thursday, February 11, 2010
Major white matter tracts are bundles of neuronal fibers connecting the cortical brain areas to deep seated regions and periphery. An example is the pyramidal tract, which is responsible for motor function, or the corpus callosum connecting both brain hemispheres. Their preservation during brain surgery is of major importance, in order to avoid postoperative new neurological deficits, such as impairment of motor function
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