基于多目标交叉变异粒子群算法的多模医学图像非刚性配准

以互信息为相似性测度,采用B样条变换对多模态医学图像进行非刚性配准时,由于噪声及图像插值等原因造成的互信息局部极值使得传统优化方法不能搜索到最佳配准参数。为此,使用粒子群智能优化方法作为搜索策略,以降低对图像预处理的要求,进一步提高基于互信息的非刚性配准的鲁棒性。为了克服粒子群算法受初始值选取等因素的影响易陷于局部最优的缺点,使用LBFGS优化得到的结果构造初始粒子群,采用多目标优化方法结合交叉变异策略加以改进,使得算法在解空间搜索的遍历性得到改善,优化结果更接近全局最优。MR-T2与MR-PD图像的配准实验证明,该方法提高了基于互信息的B样条非刚性配准的鲁棒性,配准率达到94%;CT与PET图像的配准实验表明该方法相比惯性权重粒子群算法提高了配准精度,互信息增加了0.026;另外,CT与CBCT图像的配准实验也验证了本方法的有效性。     

Fast and Accurate Registration Techniques for Affine and Nonrigid Alignment of MR Brain Images

Registration of magnetic resonance brain images is a geometric operation that determines point-wise correspondences between two brains. It remains a difficult task due to the highly convoluted structure of the brain. This paper presents novel methods, Brain Image Registration Tools (BIRT), that can rapidly and accurately register brain images by utilizing the brain structure information estimated from image derivatives. Source and target image spaces are related by affine transformation and non-rigid deformation. The deformation field is modeled by a set of Wendland’s radial basis functions hierarchically deployed near the salient brain structures. In general, nonlinear optimization is heavily engaged in the parameter estimation for affine/non-rigid transformation and good initial estimates are thus essential to registration performance. In this work, the affine registration is initialized by a rigid transformation, which can robustly estimate the orientation and position differences of brain images. The parameters of the affine/non-rigid transformation are then hierarchically estimated in a coarse-to-fine manner by maximizing an image similarity measure, the correlation ratio, between the involved images. T1-weighted brain magnetic resonance images were utilized for performance evaluation. Our experimental results using four 3-D image sets demonstrated that BIRT can efficiently align images with high accuracy compared to several other algorithms, and thus is adequate to the applications which apply registration process intensively. Moreover, a voxel-based morphometric study quantitatively indicated that accurate registration can improve both the sensitivity and specificity of the statistical inference results.     

Non-rigid registration between 3D ultrasound and CT images of the liver based on intensity and gradient information

In order to utilize both ultrasound (US) and computed tomography (CT) images of the liver concurrently for medical applications such as diagnosis and image-guided intervention, non-rigid registration between these two types of images is an essential step, as local deformation between US and CT images exists due to the different respiratory phases involved and due to the probe pressure that occurs in US imaging. This paper introduces a voxel-based non-rigid registration algorithm between the 3D B-mode US and CT images of the liver. In the proposed algorithm, to improve the registration accuracy, we utilize the surface information of the liver and gallbladder in addition to the information of the vessels inside the liver. For an effective correlation between US and CT images, we treat those anatomical regions separately according to their characteristics in US and CT images. Based on a novel objective function using a 3D joint histogram of the intensity and gradient information, vessel-based non-rigid registration is followed by surface-based non-rigid registration in sequence, which improves the registration accuracy. The proposed algorithm is tested for ten clinical datasets and quantitative evaluations are conducted. Experimental results show that the registration error between anatomical features of US and CT images is less than 2 mm on average, even with local deformation due to different respiratory phases and probe pressure. In addition, the lesion registration error is less than 3 mm on average with a maximum of 4.5 mm that is considered acceptable for clinical applications.     

Spatio-temporal (2D+T) non-rigid registration of real-time 3D echocardiography and cardiovascular MR image sequences

In this paper we describe a method to non-rigidly co-register a 2D slice sequence from real-time 3D echocardiography with a 2D cardiovascular MR image sequence. This is challenging because the imaging modalities have different spatial and temporal resolution. Non-rigid registration is required for accurate alignment due to imprecision of cardiac gating and natural motion variations between cardiac cycles. In our approach the deformation field between the imaging modalities is decoupled into temporal and spatial components. First, temporal alignment is performed to establish temporal correspondence between a real-time 3D echocardiography frame and a cardiovascular MR frame. Spatial alignment is then performed using an adaptive non-rigid registration algorithm based on local phase mutual information on each temporally aligned image pair. Experiments on seven volunteer datasets are reported. Evaluation of registration errors based on expert-identified landmarks shows that the spatio-temporal registration algorithm gives a mean registration error of 3.56 ± 0.49 and 3.54 ± 0.27 mm for the short and long axis sequences, respectively.     

Registration of FA and T1-Weighted MRI Data of Healthy Human Brain Based on Template Matching and Normalized Cross-Correlation

In this work, we propose a new approach for three-dimensional registration of MR fractional anisotropy images with T1-weighted anatomy images of human brain. From the clinical point of view, this accurate coregistration allows precise detection of nerve fibers that is essential in neuroscience. A template matching algorithm combined with normalized cross-correlation was used for this registration task. To show the suitability of the proposed method, it was compared with the normalized mutual information-based B-spline registration provided by the Elastix software library, considered a reference method. We also propose a general framework for the evaluation of robustness and reliability of both registration methods. Both registration methods were tested by four evaluation criteria on a dataset consisting of 74 healthy subjects. The template matching algorithm has shown more reliable results than the reference method in registration of the MR fractional anisotropy and T1 anatomy image data. Significant differences were observed in the regions splenium of corpus callosum and genu of corpus callosum, considered very important areas of brain connectivity. We demonstrate that, in this registration task, the currently used mutual information-based parametric registration can be replaced by more accurate local template matching utilizing the normalized cross-correlation similarity measure.     

Comparative evaluation of similarity measures for the rigid registration of multi-modal head images

Image registrations that are based on similarity measures simply adjust the parameters of an appropriate spatial transformation model until the similarity measure reaches an optimum. The numerous similarity measures that have been proposed in the past are differently sensitive to imaging modality, image content and differences in the image content, selection of the floating and target image, partial image overlap, etc. In this paper, we evaluate and compare 12 similarity measures for the rigid registration. To study the impact of different imaging modalities on the behavior of similarity measures, we have used 16 CT/MR and 6 PET/MR image pairs with known 'gold standard' registrations. The results for the PET/MR registration and for the registration of CT to both rectified and unrectified MR images indicate that mutual information, normalized mutual information and the entropy correlation coefficient are the most accurate similarity measures and have the smallest risk of being trapped in a local optimum. The results of an experiment on the impact of exchanging the floating and target image indicate that, especially in MR/PET registrations, the behavior of some similarity measures, such as mutual information, significantly depends on which image is the floating and which is the target.     

基于互信息的多分辨率三维脑图像配准方法

在3D多模医学图像的配准方法中，最大互信息法精度高，鲁棒性强，使用范围广，本文将归一化互信息作为相似性测度，采用不同的采样范围和采样子集，使用Powell多参数优化法和Brent一维搜索算法对3DCT，MR和PET脑图像进行了刚体配准，为了加快配准速度，使用了多分辨的金字塔方法，对PET图像采用基于坐标的阈值选取方法对图像进行分割预算法，消除了大部分放射状背景伪影，美国万德贝尔大学对结果进行的评估证明配准精度可达亚体元级。     

Robust and fast shell registration in PET and MR/CT brain images

A robust and fast hybrid method using a shell volume that consists of high contrast voxels with their neighbors is proposed for registering PET and MR/CT brain images. Whereas conventional hybrid methods find the best matched pairs from several manually selected or automatically extracted local regions, our method automatically selects a shell volume in the PET image, and finds the best matched corresponding volume using normalized mutual information (NMI) in overlapping volumes while transforming the shell volume into an MR or CT image. A shell volume not only can reduce irrelevant corresponding voxels between two images during optimization of transformation parameters, but also brings a more robust registration with less computational cost. Experimental results on clinical data sets showed that our method successfully aligned all PET and MR/CT image pairs without losing any diagnostic information, while the conventional registration methods failed in some cases.     

基于改进最大互信息法的MR切片图像配准

医学图像配准是医学图像处理分析的关键步骤,是医学图像融合首先要解决的问题。本研究的主要目的是实现帕金森患者深脑部刺激手术前后MR图像的配准。将互距离引入互信息测度,实现手术前后两组MR切片图像的对应匹配,然后将对应的两组MR切片系列重建三维图像,最后用Powell优化算法对重建的三维图像进行配准。通过术前术后MR三维图像的配准,可以定量的分析手术后植入电极和手术前丘脑底核的相对位置关系,从而实现对深脑部刺激手术质量的科学评估。     

磁共振弥散张量成像几何畸变的三维校准

采用图像非刚体配准的方法校正磁共振弥散张量成像的几何畸变.在3D数据场中,采用仿射变换和B样条的变形配准方法来矫正几何畸变,配准的相似性测度采用互信息为准则.弥散张量成像特定组织间的磁女感性差异引起的几何畸变得到了一定纠正,所采用的方法对畸变有一定的抑制.采用3D配准的方法可以对弥文张量成像的几何畸变进行纠正,明显提高了图像质量.     

Algorithms for radiological image registration and their clinical application

This paper reviews recent work in radiological image registration and provides a classification of image registration by type of transformation and by methods employed to compute the transformation. The former includes transformation of 2D images to 2D images of the same individual, transformation of 3D images to 3D images of the same individual, transformation of images to an atlas or model, transformation of images acquired from a number of individuals, transformations for image guided interventions including 2D to 3D registration and finally tissue deformation in image guided interventions. Recent work on computing transformations for registration using corresponding landmark based registration, surface based registration and voxel similarity measures, including entropy based measures, are reviewed and compared. Recently fully automated algorithms based on voxel similarity measures and, in particular, mutual information have been shown to be accurate and robust at registering images of the head when the rigid body assumption is valid. Two approaches to modelling soft tissue deformation for applications in image guided interventions are described. Validation of complex processing tasks such as image registration is vital if these algorithms are to be used in clinical practice. Three alternative validation strategies are presented. These methods are finding application outside the original domain of radiological imaging.     

基于傅里叶梅林变换的图像配准方法

目的:提出一种新的配准框架用于图像引导放射治疗系统中的2D/3D图像配准,有效降低传统方法迭代搜索时间,同时保证放射治疗要求的配准精度。方法:利用傅里叶梅林变换方法对正侧位kV图像与对应方位参考CT图像生成的数字重建放射影像（DRR）进行粗配准,根据傅里叶梅林变换计算得到的二维平移向量以及放射治疗系统的机械几何参数反推出参考CT图像的三维空间位置偏差,更新正侧位的DRR图像,最后通过正侧位kV图像与DRR图像的相似度进行精配准达到临床需求。结果:采用临床金标准数据验证方法的配准性能,实验结果表明,配准误差为0.576 5 mm,平均运行时间为3.34 s。结论:该方法鲁棒性强,对图像的噪声不敏感,人工干预少,可满足临床应用的需求。     

A novel magnetic resonance-positive emission image registration based on morphology

Structures were obtained from images with morphological characteristics to register with voxel-based method. We applied simple morphological operations to obtain human brain cortex and chose normalized mutual information as similarity measure for the geometric alignment of PET and MR images. Evaluation used nine patients, and the results showed that sub-voxel accuracy was achieved and the registration process was significantly more rapid. Thus this new automated multi-modality registration method is more robust and has high accuracy.     

基于最大互信息的人脑MR-PET图像配准方法

利用最大互信息法进行多模医学图像配准近来成为医学图像处理领域的热点。MR和PET图像配准对研究神经组织的结构关系和引导神经外科手术有着重要的指导意义。本文描述了一种基于互信息的人脑MR－PET图像配准方法。我们将这种方法应用于图像的几何对准并给出了初步的评估结果。由于不需要对不同成像模式下的图像灰度间的关系作任何假设,最大互信息法是一种稳健性强,可广泛应用于基于体素的多模图像的配准方法。     

Three-dimensional image registration of MR proximal femur images for the analysis of trabecular bone parameters

This study investigated the feasibility of automatic image registration of MR high-spatial resolution proximal femur trabecular bone images as well as the effects of gray-level interpolation and volume of interest (VOI) misalignment on MR-derived trabecular bone structure parameters. For six subjects in a short-term study, a baseline scan and a follow-up scan of the proximal femur were acquired on the same day. For ten subjects in a long-term study, a follow-up scan of the proximal femur was acquired 1 year after the baseline. An automatic image registration technique, based on mutual information, utilized a baseline and a follow-up scan to compute transform parameters that aligned the two images. In the short-term study, these parameters were subsequently used to transform the follow-up image with three different gray-level interpolators. Nearest-neighbor interpolation and B-spline approximation did not significantly alter bone parameters, while linear interpolation significantly modified bone parameters (p<0.01). Improvement in image alignment due to the automatic registration for the long-term and short-term study was determined by inspecting difference images and 3D renderings. This work demonstrates the first application of automatic registration, without prior segmentation, of high-spatial resolution trabecular bone MR images of the proximal femur. Additionally, inherent heterogeneity in trabecular bone structure and imprecise positioning of the VOI along the slice (anterior-posterior) direction resulted in significant changes in bone parameters (p<0.01). Results suggest that automatic mutual information registration using B-spline approximation or nearest neighbor gray-level interpolation to transform the final image ensures VOI alignment between baseline and follow-up images and does not compromise the integrity of MR-derived trabecular bone parameters used in this study.     

基于调幅-调频与熵图多模态医学图像的配准

背景：基于传统互信息量的多模态医学图像配准方法配准时需要利用二维直方图或者Parzen窗函数的方法估计概率密度分布,进而计算互信息量,这种方式计算速度慢,而且只考虑了图像的灰度信息,容易出现误配。 目的：针对目前主流的配准方法鲁棒性差、耗时的缺点,提出了一种新的基于调幅-调频(AM-FM)特征互信息量的快速配准方法。 方法：该方法考虑了图像的空间和结构信息;首先通过AM-FM模型对图像进行分解,得到图像的AM-FM特征,与图像的灰度特征一起组成高维特征;然后利用熵图和最小生成树加快AM-FM特征互信息量的计算,从而实现了医学图像的快速配准。 结果与结论：对20组磁共振T1-T2加权图像、CT/正电子发射计算机断层成像图像进行了实验,结果表明该方法在图像空间分辨率较低,有噪声影响等情况下均可以达到较好的结果,且配准精度优于国际上的主流方法,具有计算速度快,精度高,鲁棒性强的特点,适于临床应用。     

Binary Segmentation Masks Can Improve Intrasubject Registration Accuracy of Bone Structures in CT Images

Registration of bone structures is a common problem in medical research as well as in clinical applications. Intrasubject rigid 3D monomodality registration of segmented bone structures of CT images and multimodality registration of μMR and segmented μCT bone images were performed with the multiresolution intensity-based technique implemented in ITK. The registration results for binary volumes of interest (VOI) masks and for segmented gray value VOIs were compared. To determine the registration quality, in the monomodality case the sum of squared difference, the sum of absolute differences, and the normalized symmetric difference of binary masks and in the multimodality case Mattes mutual information were applied. The use of binary VOI masks was significantly superior to the use of gray value VOIs.     

灰度与形状同步匹配的非刚性配准研究

基于灰度的非刚性配准算法一般假设参考图像和浮动图像对应结构之间的灰度保持一致,然而在基于图谱的图像配准应用中,这种假设往往不符合实际。本文在给出一种可以同时校正灰度和形状差异的弹性配准算法的同时,针对该算法不能校正局部微小形变的弱点,提出采用自由项变换的方法进行校正以提高配准精度。配准实验基于20个IBSR真实脑部MRI图像,结果表明配准后图像与参考图像间的互相关系数得到明显提高。实验证明,本文提出的方法不仅能够同时校正形状差异和灰度变化,而且具有较高的配准质量。     

A tool for validating MRI-guided strategies: a digital breathing CT/MRI phantom of the abdominal site

Dynamic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is emerging as the elected image modality for organ motion quantification and management in image-guided radiotherapy. However, the lack of validation tools is an open issue for image guidance in the abdominal and thoracic organs affected by organ motion due to respiration. We therefore present an abdominal four-dimensional (4D) CT/MRI digital phantom, including the estimation of MR tissue parameters, simulation of dedicated abdominal MR sequences, modeling of radiofrequency coil response and noise, followed by k-space sampling and image reconstruction. The phantom allows the realistic simulation of images generated by MR pulse sequences with control of scan and tissue parameters, combined with co-registered CT images. In order to demonstrate the potential of the phantom in a clinical scenario, we describe the validation of a virtual T1-weighted 4D MRI strategy. Specifically, the motion extracted from a T2-weighted 4D MRI is used to warp a T1-weighted breath-hold acquisition, with the aim of overcoming trade-offs that limit T1-weighted acquisitions. Such an application shows the applicability of the digital CT/MRI phantom as a validation tool, which should be especially useful for cases unsuited to obtain real imaging data.     

基于伪超声和互信息的磁共振与超声图像配准

手术中超声图像与术前磁共振图像的配准在手术导航系统中非常重要。我们利用磁共振和超声成像原理,提出了基于伪超声和互信息,并结合多分辨率技术与Powell优化算法对两种模态图像进行配准的方法,该方法可以有效降低寻优过程中陷入局部极值收敛的概率,提高两种模态图像的配准精度。实验结果表明,我们提出的基于伪超声和互信息的配准方法比目前手术导航系统中普遍采用的标记点方法具有更高的配准精度。