塔式多相水平集三维医学图像多目标分割算法

由于Chan-Vese（GV）模型采用的是单一水平集，所以只能通过水平集的符号表示目标和背景两个区域。当三维医学图像的目标区域含有复杂的子目标时，C-V模型将无法表示。为了解决GV模型在表示三维子目标上的局限，首先将二维GV模型拓展为三维模型；其次，依据同时明度对比提出了背景填充技术，理论上保证了轮廓曲面仅收敛于目标内部；再次，将该技术与三维C-V模型相结合提出了塔式多相水平集算法；最后，实验结果表明，本算法能够实现三维医学图像多目标分割（n-1次收敛可以实现”目标分割），并且能够检测由弱边缘构成的子目标。     

Efficient center-line extraction for quantification of vessels in confocal microscopy images

In this paper we present a novel method for the three-dimensional (3-D) centerline extraction of elongated objects such as vessels. This method combines the basic ideas in distance transform-based, thinning, and path planning methods to extract thin and connected centerlines. This efficient approach needs no user interaction or any prior knowledge of the object shape. We used the path planning approach, which has exclusively been used in the virtual endoscopy or robotics, to obtain the medial curve of the objects. To make our approach fully automated, a distance transform mapping is used to identify the end points of the object branches. The initial paths are also constructed on the surface of the object, traversing the same distance map. Then a thinning algorithm centralizes the paths. The proposed approach is especially efficient for centerline extraction of the complex branching structures. The method has been applied on the confocal microscopy images of rat brains and the results confirm its efficiency in extracting the medial curve of vessels, essential for the computation of quantitative parameters.     

基于相对模糊连接度的联合主动轮廓模型及其在医学图像分割中的应用

针对医学图像背景复杂、边界模糊、局部不均匀等特点,提出了一种基于相对模糊连接度的联合主动轮廓模型,并将其应用于医学图像分割。首先介绍主动轮廓模型的曲线演化方程和模糊连接度的相关理论,然后将相对模糊连接度作为曲线演化驱动力引入曲线演化方程,最后用实验证明该方法对多目标医学图像和复杂医学图像的有效性。由于模糊连接度方法综合了局部信息和全局信息,因此可以克服Li方法容易陷入局部最优的问题和Chan-Vese方法不能越过局部伪边界的问题,从而使联合主动轮廓模型的演化曲线最终收敛于全局最优边界。     

Beam Hardening Correction for Computed Tomography Images Using a Postreconstruction Method and Equivalent Tisssue Concept

A postreconstruction method for correcting the beam-hardening artifacts in computed tomography (CT) images is proposed. This method does not require x-ray spectrum measurement. The authors assumed that a pixel in a CT image can be decomposed into equivalent tissue percentages, depending on its CT number. A scout view of the step wedges made of these equivalent tissues was performed to obtain a beam-hardening correction curve for each tissue. Projecting through the CT image from various angles generated simulated projection data and the total thickness of each tissue along the ray. The correction term was estimated using the tissue thickness traveled by the ray, and this term was then added to its corresponding projection data. A second reconstruction using the corrected projection data yielded a beam-hardening corrected image. The preliminary results show that this method reduces beam hardening artifacts by 14% for aluminum and increased the object contrast by 18% near the aluminum-water boundary. The variation in CT numbers at different locations were reduced, and the aluminum CT number also was restored.     

Measuring the imaged-object distance with a stationary high-spatial-resolution scintillation camera

A method to measure the detector-to-object distance from the images obtained with stationary high-spatial-resolution gamma-ray cameras for in vivo studies has been developed. It exploits the shift of the imaged object in the image plane, obtained at a certain tilt of the parallel-hole collimator. A linear dependence of the image displacement on the distance to the object has been measured using a high-spatial-resolution scintillation camera employing an yttrium-aluminium perovskite (YAP) scintillator. It is shown that the modified YAP camera can be used to obtain three-dimensional information without moving the camera or the object. The method could be applied in scintimammography and radioguided surgery, in lymphoscintigraphy, as well as in the analysis of the biodistribution of radiopharmaceuticals.     

一种新颖的序列图像自动配准方法

序列图像的配准是医学临床与科研实践中扮演着非常重要的角色.为了快速、准确地进行医学序列图像配准,本文提出了一种利用图像联合直方图进行序列图像自动配准的新方法.首先对图像阈值分割,将其联合直方图划分为4个区域,然后根据不同的配准图像数据,选择定义在不同区域上的计数值作为参数计算的准则函数.该方法设计简单、巧妙,以计数方法代替其他方法中大量的浮点运算.由于准则函数具有良好的光滑特性,且选择Powell算法做最优化搜索,因此保证了优化结果的准确性.和其他算法相比,该方法大大简化了准则函数的计算,从而显著提高了配准优化搜索的速度.根据实验结果,及与基于互信息量方法的对比,证明该方法准确、简便、快速、有效.     

Analyser-based phase contrast image reconstruction using geometrical optics

Analyser-based phase contrast imaging can provide radiographs of exceptional contrast at high resolution (<100 microm), whilst quantitative phase and attenuation information can be extracted using just two images when the approximations of geometrical optics are satisfied. Analytical phase retrieval can be performed by fitting the analyser rocking curve with a symmetric Pearson type VII function. The Pearson VII function provided at least a 10% better fit to experimentally measured rocking curves than linear or Gaussian functions. A test phantom, a hollow nylon cylinder, was imaged at 20 keV using a Si(1 1 1) analyser at the ELETTRA synchrotron radiation facility. Our phase retrieval method yielded a more accurate object reconstruction than methods based on a linear fit to the rocking curve. Where reconstructions failed to map expected values, calculations of the Takagi number permitted distinction between the violation of the geometrical optics conditions and the failure of curve fitting procedures. The need for synchronized object/detector translation stages was removed by using a large, divergent beam and imaging the object in segments. Our image acquisition and reconstruction procedure enables quantitative phase retrieval for systems with a divergent source and accounts for imperfections in the analyser.     

一种改进局部二元拟合的灰度非均匀图像分割

针对局部二元拟合(local binary fitting,LBF)能量模型对活动轮廓曲线初始位置较为敏感的缺点,本文提出一种改进局部二元拟合的灰度非均匀图像分割模型。首先把水平集函数初始化为一个常数,然后在迭代过程中引入一个扰动项,从而引导目标区域的水平集函数值发生符号变化。实验结果表明,上述模型能够有效地应用于灰度非均匀图像的分割。与LBF模型相比,本文模型无需人工选择活动轮廓曲线的初始位置,且避免了由于初始位置选择不当造成的分割错误。     

一种简化的PET绝对定量分析方法

目的 探讨在PET绝对定量分析中,如何在使用无损输入函数的同时,减PET动态显像时间.方法 通过勾画PET图像兔左心室感兴趣区(ROI)得到左心室血池时间活度曲线(PTAC),验证用血池感兴趣区法与标准输入函数模型结合的方法,确定无损输入函数可以替代动脉连续采血.利用输入函数模型拟合PTAC,输出函数模型拟合组织活度时间曲线(TTAC),再利用微分方程数值解法求解葡萄糖代谢房室模型.对该算法在缩短PET动态采集时间方面的应用进行了计算机仿真和动物实验上的验证.结果 (1)无创输入函数验证部分,两者通过非线性最小二乘法得到的ki相关系数r=0.9824(P<0.01).(2)计算机模拟结果表明在中低噪声情况下,可以将PET动态采集时间缩短为25min.动物实验结果表明,当PET动态采集时间缩短为25 min时,ki_(60)=0.9127×ki_(25)-0.0013,相关系数r=0.9182(P<0.01).结论 本方法可以通过选取合适的血池来获得无损输入函数,避免连续动脉采血,同时减少PET动态采集的时间.     

生物组织连续切片图像的配准与三维显示

连续组织切片图像的的三维重建和显示，是一种重要的形态学研究方法，三维重建过程中，首先要对连续切片图像进行配准，本文首先介绍了作者提出的用于自动图像配准的分割一计数法，该方法通过对图像做简单的阈值分割，将优化的准则函数定义为图像的联合直方图特定区域上的计数值，大大加快了配准速度，然后将该方法用于小鼠胚胎的连续切片图像配准，得到空间上配准的三维数据场，为三维显示奠定了基础，最后给了一个初步的表面绘制结果。     

基于先验知识和几何主动轮廓线的三维超声瓣膜分割

几何主动轮廓线模型是一种有效的图像分割方法.但对于被噪声严重干扰的目标依然很难准确分割.特定目标的先验知识可以有效地指导目标的准确分割.我们把特定目标的区域和形状先验知识表示成一种速度场,把此速度场嵌入到几何主动轮廓线模型中,指导目标的快速准确分割.先验区域限制水平集在特定区域迭代,先验形状使曲线向理想轮廓演化.我们把该算法应用于三维超声图像的二尖瓣自动分割,结果表明该分割算法是快速和高效的.     

A geometric model for measurement of surface distance, surface area, and volume from tomographic images.

Surface area and volume are essential measurements in the morphometric assessment of anatomical structures. New algorithms were developed to measure (1) distance along a curve, (2) surface area, and (3) volume using data extracted from tomographic images as a geometrical surface model. The model is a list of coordinates and normal vectors for each voxel or point gathered from the surface of a selected object. The resulting surface-based pointlist is also used for high-speed rendering of surfaces. Differential arclength and surface area are measured with high numeric precision by using the absolute value of the maximum component of the unit normal vector (MUNC) to approximate their values. These differential values are summed to measure distance along a curve and surface area. A discrete form of the Divergence theorem, also using the MUNC, is used to calculate volume. The intrinsic accuracy of the measurement algorithms was evaluated using computer generated pointlists of circles, ellipses, spheres, and ellipsoids. Compared to standard measurement techniques, the new algorithms provided the greatest accuracy and least shape-related bias for measurement of distance, surface area, and volume. Feasibility of using the new algorithms to measure physical objects was tested with CT images of spherical, egg-shaped, and irregular shaped objects. The Dividing Cubes algorithm was used to segment and create pointlists from the CT data. Volume and surface area measurements from CT data compared extremely well with reference values for most objects tested (errors less than 2%).     

基于磁共振图像的鼻腔边界分割及解剖结构提取简

目的探索基于系列磁共振图像获取鼻腔边界的有效分割方法．对图像进行准确分割并考察鼻腔的解剖结构。方法受试者为健康男性,年龄24岁。采用层间距为4mm的冠状面头颈部MRI图像．用MATLAB编程对图像预处理。使用距离正则化水平集图像分割方法分割鼻腔的边界．并借助插值算法计算任意位置的鼻腔横截面积．以及通过对横截面积分布曲线的积分算出鼻腔体积。结果精确分割出鼻腔边界,获得其坐标,并可保存为图像格式或数据文件格式。给出左、右鼻腔横截面积随距离变化的连续分布曲线、鼻腔最小截面的位置．以及鼻腔体积。结论该方法可以有效地分割出几何形态复杂的鼻腔的边界并获得鼻腔的结构参数数值．所得到的边界坐标数据可方便地用于鼻腔结构的三维重建。     

A String Matching Computer-Assisted System for Dolphin Photoidentification

This paper presents a syntactic/semantic string representation scheme as well as a string matching method as part of a computer-assisted system to identify dolphins from photographs of their dorsal fins. A low-level string representation is constructed from the curvature function of a dolphin's fin trailing edge, consisting of positive and negative curvature primitives. A high-level string representation is then built over the low-level string via merging appropriate groupings of primitives in order to have a less sensitive representation to curvature fluctuations or noise. A family of syntactic/semantic distance measures between two strings is introduced. A composite distance measure is then defined and used as a dissimilarity measure for database search, highlighting both the syntax (structure or sequence) and semantic (attribute or feature) differences. The syntax consists of an ordered sequence of significant protrusions and intrusions on the edge, while the semantics consist of seven attributes extracted from the edge and its curvature function. The matching results are reported for a database of 624 images corresponding to 164 individual dolphins. The identification results indicate that the developed string matching method performs better than the previous matching methods including dorsal ratio, curvature, and curve matching. The developed computer-assisted system can help marine mammalogists in their identification of dolphins, since it allows them to examine only a handful of candidate images instead of the currently used manual searching of the entire database. © 2000 Biomedical Engineering Society. PAC00: 8780Tq, 4230Sy, 0705Pj     

Resolution improvement in emission optical projection tomography

A new imaging technique called emission optical projection tomography (eOPT), essentially an optical version of single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), provides molecular specificity, resolution on the order of microns to tens of microns, and large specimen coverage ( approximately 1 cubic centimetre). It is ideally suited to gene expression studies in embryos. Reconstructed eOPT images suffer from blurring that worsens as the distance from the axis of rotation increases. This blur is caused in part by the defocusing of the lens' point-spread function, which increases with object distance from the focal plane. In this paper, we describe a frequency space filter based on the frequency-distance relationship of sinograms to deconvolve the distance-dependent point-spread function and exclude highly defocused data from the eOPT sinograms prior to reconstruction. The method is shown to reduce the volume at half-maximum of the reconstructed point-spread function to approximately 20% the original, and the volume at 10% maximum to approximately 6% the original. As an illustration, the visibility of fine details in the vasculature of a 9.5 day old mouse embryo is dramatically improved.     

Automated matching and segmentation of lymphoma on serial CT examinations

In patients with lymphoma, identification and quantification of the tumor extent on serial CT examinations is critical for assessing tumor response to therapy. In this paper, we present a computer method to automatically match and segment lymphomas in follow-up CT images. The method requires that target lymph nodes in baseline CT images be known. A fast, approximate alignment technique along the x, y, and axial directions is developed to provide a good initial condition for the subsequent fast free form deformation (FFD) registration of the baseline and the follow-up images. As a result of the registration, the deformed lymph node contours from the baseline images are used to automatically determine internal and external markers for the marker-controlled watershed segmentation performed in the follow-up images. We applied this automated registration and segmentation method retrospectively to 29 lymph nodes in 9 lymphoma patients treated in a clinical trial at our cancer center. A radiologist independently delineated all lymph nodes on all slices in the follow-up images and his manual contours served as the "gold standard" for evaluation of the method. Preliminary results showed that 26/29 (89.7%) lymph nodes were correctly matched; i.e., there was a geometrical overlap between the deformed lymph node from the baseline and its corresponding mass in the follow-up images. Of the matched 26 lymph nodes, 22 (84.6%) were successfully segmented; for these 22 lymph nodes, several metrics were calculated to quantify the method's performance. Among them, the average distance and the Hausdorff distance between the contours generated by the computer and those generated by the radiologist were 0.9 mm (stdev. 0.4 mm) and 3.9 mm (stdev. 2.1 mm), respectively.     

一种新的舌癌图像快速自动分割方法

目的:研究一种新的舌癌图像自动分割算法以实现对舌癌肿瘤的快速准确分割。方法:通过引入一种基于局部均方差的自适应尺度算子实现演化曲线在演化过程中的自动调整,从而更高效率地向真实目标边界运动,并且克服舌癌肿瘤图像中目标边界不清和图像灰度不均匀等不良因素带来的影响。此外,为加快曲线的收敛速度,本文提出了一种新的能量项评估演化曲线轮廓内部和轮廓外部区域灰度的分布差异,以此引导曲线自适应地调整演化速度,减少完成分割任务所需的迭代次数。结果:使用本方法对22幅舌癌肿瘤MRI图像进行分割,分割结果与真实结果之间的重叠率Dice值为0.82,豪斯多夫距离HD值为1.732 mm。结论:将本文算法与其它现有的几种活动轮廓模型进行定性和定量对比分析,实验结果表明本文算法在对细节及弱边缘灰度的处理上表现更加优异,可用于舌癌肿瘤的精确分割,为临床分析提供辅助信息。     

基于3D医学图像的血管三维分割

血管三维分割在血管疾病(如狭窄或畸形)诊断、手术规划和手术引导等许多实际应用中发挥重要作用。但三维分割的实时性仍是一个难题。本研究提出一种基于水平集的快速三维血管分割方法,该方法用内、外邻域曲面来描述被分割目标的边界,并定义水平集函数为简单的整数符号距离函数。通过扫描内外邻域曲面上的点,使之在速度场的作用下向目标边界移动。该方法的不同之处在于利用简单的模型极大地减小了计算量,分割速度快,大容量的MS-CTA[2563体素]图像可在20s内处理完毕。同时,展示了一些三维血管的分割实例。特别需要指出的是,对于人体的大血管,可在不经血管造影的情况下,直接从CT等三维图像中分割出来。     

A two-stage microwave image reconstruction procedure for improved internal feature extraction.

We have developed a two-stage Gauss-Newton reconstruction process with an automatic procedure for determining the regularization parameter. The combination is utilized by our microwave imaging system and has facilitated recovery of quantitatively improved images. The first stage employs a Levenberg-Marquardt regularization along with a spatial filtering technique for a few iterations to produce an intermediate image. In effect, the first set of iterative image reconstruction steps synthesizes a priori information from the measurement data versus actually requiring physical prior information on the interrogated object. Because of the interaction of the Levenberg-Marquardt regularization and spatial filtering at each iteration, the intermediate image produced from the first reconstruction stage represents an improvement in terms of the least squared error over the initial uniform guess; however, it has not completely converged in a least squared sense. The second stage involves using this distribution as a priori information in an iteratively regularized Gauss-Newton reconstruction with a weighted Euclidean distance penalty term. The penalized term restricts the final image to a vicinity (determined by the scale of the weighting parameter) about the intermediate image while allowing more flexibility in extracting internal object structures. The second stage makes use of an empirical Bayesian/random effects model that enables an optimal determination of the weighting parameter of the penalized term. The new approach demonstrates quantifiably improved images in simulation, phantom and in vivo experiments with particularly striking improvements with respect to the recovery of heterogeneities internal to large, high contrast scatterers such as encountered when imaging the human breast in a water-coupled configuration.