Survey study of multimodality medical image fusion methods

Abstract

Multimodality medical image fusion is the process of combining multiple images from single or multiple modalities of imaging. Medical image fusion methods are adopted to increase the quality of medical images by attaining the salient features in the fusion results. Hence, they raise the clinical applicability of medical images for appraisal and diagnosis problems. This purpose is achieved by capturing the complementary information presented in two or more images of different modalities in the fusion result. Medical image fusion is generally concerned with Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), Magnetic Resonance Angiogram (MRA), Positron Emission Tomography (PET), Structural Positron Emission Tomography (SPET), Computerized Tomography (CT), and Single-Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) modalities. Each modality has its merits and drawbacks. This induces new fusion methods for merging information from multiple imaging modalities. Researchers have presented several methods for medical image fusion, and these methods achieved good results. However, medical image fusion is a resurgent field that needs to be enhanced to conquer the increasing challenges. This paper presents a comprehensive survey of some existing medical image fusion methods. It is expected that this study will be useful for the researchers scrutinizing medical image fusion. Furthermore, it is expected to establish a concrete foundation for developing more powerful fusion methods for medical applications.