Method and system for segmentation of medical images
US6396939B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | May 27, 1999 |
| Grant date | May 28, 2002 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 27, 2019 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06T2207/30008
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A segmentation method and system for medical images of a structure, including at least one substructure are described herein. Examples of such structure and substructures are a vertebra and its spinal canal or a sacrum with its two foramens. The method consists of first providing a plurality of digital images representing consecutive slices of the structure. The set of images is then divided into groups for which initial substructures center position are estimated. Using this information, the pixels corresponding to each substructure and common to all the images in the group are determined. Iterations are performed between these two last steps until the best candidates are obtained. The method consists then in estimating the substructures center position in each image of the group. After the substructures have been identified in each image, the images are then processed to remove noise in the substructures, in the rest of the structure and outside the structure.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.