Segmentation of volumetric MRA images by using capillary active contour

Med Image Anal. 2006 Jun;10(3):317-29. doi: 10.1016/j.media.2005.12.002. Epub 2006 Feb 7.

Abstract

Precise segmentation of three-dimensional (3D) magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) images can be a very useful computer aided diagnosis (CAD) tool for clinical routines. Level sets based evolution schemes, which have been shown to be effective and easy to implement for many segmentation applications, are being applied to MRA data sets. In this paper, we present a segmentation scheme for accurately extracting vasculature from MRA images. Our proposed algorithm models capillary action and derives a capillary active contour for segmentation of thin vessels. The algorithm is implemented using the level set method and has been applied successfully on real 3D MRA images. Compared with other state-of-the-art MRA segmentation algorithms, experiments show that our method facilitates more accurate segmentation of thin blood vessels.

MeSH terms

  • Algorithms*
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Capillaries / anatomy & histology*
  • Humans
  • Image Enhancement / methods*
  • Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted / methods*
  • Imaging, Three-Dimensional / methods*
  • Information Storage and Retrieval / methods
  • Magnetic Resonance Angiography / methods*
  • Pattern Recognition, Automated / methods*
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Sensitivity and Specificity