Interactive medical image segmentation using PDE control of active contours

Karasev P, Kolesov I, Fritscher K, Vela P, Mitchell P, Tannenbaum A. Interactive medical image segmentation using PDE control of active contours. IEEE Trans Med Imaging. 2013;32(11):2127–39.

Abstract

Segmentation of injured or unusual anatomic structures in medical imagery is a problem that has continued to elude fully automated solutions. In this paper, the goal of easy-to-use and consistent interactive segmentation is transformed into a control synthesis problem. A nominal level set partial differential equation (PDE) is assumed to be given; this open-loop system achieves correct segmentation under ideal conditions, but does not agree with a human expert’s ideal boundary for real image data. Perturbing the state and dynamics of a level set PDE via the accumulated user input and an observer-like system leads to desirable closed-loop behavior. The input structure is designed such that a user can stabilize the boundary in some desired state without needing to understand any mathematical parameters. Effectiveness of the technique is illustrated with applications to the challenging segmentations of a patellar tendon in magnetic resonance and a shattered femur in computed tomography.
Last updated on 02/24/2023