A hybrid approach for segmentation of anatomic structures in medical images

Objective

We propose a hybrid interactive approach for the segmentation of anatomic structures in medical images with higher accuracy at lower user interaction cost.

Materials and methods

Eighteen brain MR scans from the Internet Brain Segmentation Repository are used for brain structure segmentation. A MR scan and a CT scan of an old female are used for orbital structure segmentation. The proposed approach combines shape-based interpolation, radial basis function (RBF)-based warping and model-based segmentation. With this approach, to segment a structure in a 3D image, we first delineate the structure in several slices using interactive methods, and then use shape-based interpolation to automatically generate an initial 3D model of the structure from the segmented slices. To refine the initial model, we specify a set of additional points on the structure boundary in the image, and use a RBF to warp the model so that it passes the specified points. Finally, we adopt a point-anchored active surface approach to further deform the model for a better fitting of the model with its corresponding structure in image.

Results

Two brain structures and 15 orbital structures are segmented. For each structure, it needs only to semi- automatically segment three to five 2D slices and specify two to nine additional points on the structure boundary. The time cost for each structure is about 1–3 min. The overlap ratio of the segmentation results and the ground truth is higher than 96%.

Conclusion

The proposed method for the segmentation of anatomic structure achieved higher accuracy at lower user interaction cost, and therefore promising in many applications such as surgery planning and simulation, atlas construction, and morphometric analysis of anatomic structures.