Hybrid segmentation framework for 3D medical image analysis

Abstract

Medical image segmentation is the process that defines the region of interest in the image volume. Classical segmentation methods such as region-based methods and boundary-based methods cannot make full use of the information provided by the image. In this paper we proposed a general hybrid framework for 3D medical image segmentation purposes. In our approach we combine the Gibbs Prior model, and the deformable model. First, Gibbs Prior models are applied onto each slice in a 3D medical image volume and the segmentation results are combined to a 3D binary masks of the object. Then we create a deformable mesh based on this 3D binary mask. The deformable model will be lead to the edge features in the volume with the help of image derived external forces. The deformable model segmentation result can be used to update the parameters for Gibbs Prior models. These methods will then work recursively to reach a global segmentation solution. The hybrid segmentation framework has been applied to images with the objective of lung, heart, colon, jaw, tumor, and brain. The experimental data includes MRI (T1, T2, PD), CT, X-ray, Ultra-Sound images. High quality results are achieved with relatively efficient time cost. We also did validation work using expert manual segmentation as the ground truth. The result shows that the hybrid segmentation may have further clinical use.