Method and computer program product for registering biomedical images with reduced imaging arefacts caused by object movement

Abstract

A method of registering biomedical images to reduce imaging artefacts caused by object movement is disclosed, wherein a certain number of features or landmarks is automatically defined and tracked in a first and second image to be registered to determine the optical flow vector between the first and second image. Registration then takes place by applying the inverse optical flow to the second image. The automatic feature selection step is carried out by determining the mean signal intensity in a defined neighborhood for every pixel, which mean signal intensity is then compared to a predetermined threshold. If the mean signal intensity value of said neighborhood is higher than the predetermined threshold the pixel is defined as a feature and is added to a list of features to be tracked.

Description

technical field

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for image registration, which consists of the following steps:

[0002] a) providing at least a first and a second digital or digitized image of the same object, or at least a first and a second set of cross-sectional images of the object, the images being formed by a two-dimensional or three-dimensional array of pixels or voxels;

[0003] b) in the first image or group of images, by selecting a certain number of pixels or voxels, setting these pixels or voxels as signs or features, to define a certain number of signs, so-called features, and generating a list of said characteristics to track;

[0004] c) From the first to the second image by determining the optical flow vector from the first to the second image or from the first group to the second group of images for each pixel or voxel selected as a feature or from the first set to the second set of images, tracking the position of each pixel or voxel select...

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