Abdominal Image Registration via Domain Partitioning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Respiration-induced motion in abdominal organs during CT scans complicates perfusion measurements, leading to motion artifacts and degraded image quality due to high noise levels in low-dose CT scans, which existing whole-volume non-rigid registration methods struggle to address effectively.
Innovation Solution
A computer-automated image processing method that partitions the abdominal region into separate domains for the abdominal cavity and abdominal wall, using rigid registration followed by non-rigid registration within each domain, and merging the warp fields to achieve accurate registration and reduce motion artifacts.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If whole-volume non-rigid registration is used to correct respiration-induced motion, then motion artifacts are reduced, but computational complexity and processing time increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the abdominal volume into multiple sub-volumes or regions of interest, applying registration separately to each segment rather than the entire volume. This segmentation reduces the computational complexity of non-rigid registration while maintaining effectiveness in correcting respiration-induced motion artifacts in the abdominal organs.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If low-dose CT scans are used to reduce radiation exposure, then patient safety is improved, but image noise increases and measurement precision deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces motion correction and noise reduction algorithms as intermediary processing steps between image acquisition and perfusion measurement. These intermediary processes compensate for the degraded image quality from low-dose scans, restoring measurement precision without increasing radiation exposure.
3Reliability
If breath-hold protocol is used to reduce motion, then motion artifacts are minimized, but patient compliance becomes difficult and scan time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs automatic motion detection and correction algorithms that self-adjust to the patient's natural breathing pattern without requiring active patient participation in breath-holding. The system automatically identifies and corrects motion artifacts, making the procedure easier for patients while maintaining image quality.
Data Source
AI summary
According to one embodiment there is provided a computer-automated image processing method applied to a four-dimensional (4D) image data set of a patient's abdomen, e.g. by dynamic contrast enhanced computer-assisted tomography (DCE-CT). One of the three-dimensional (3D) scan images is taken to as the reference volume and the others as target volumes. Before registration between the 3D scan images, the image data set is partitioned into an abdominal cavity domain, containing the organs inside the abdominal wall, and an abdominal wall domain including the abdominal wall and externally adjacent skeletal features, such as the spine and ribs. Registration is then carried out separately on the two domains to obtain two warp fields which are then merged into a 4D image data set of the whole volume for further use, which may be to carry out perfusion measurements, to display and to store the registered 4D image data set.