Optical Flow as a Tool for CT Segmentation

G. Zhang, T. Guerrero (USA), T.-C. Huang, K.-P. Lin (Taiwan), and G. Starkschall (USA)

Keywords

Optical flow, deformable registration, CT segmentation.

Abstract

Optical flow methods (OFM) are widely used for deformable registration of images acquired at different times. OFM can also be used to establish correspondences between adjacent slices in a CT image data set. The pixel-to-pixel displacement matrices generated from the registration of adjacent CT slices offer precise mappings for contours, which in turn allows automated segmentation of anatomic structures. Generation of contours of lung, heart, esophagus, and spinal cord has been studied. Examples are given in this paper. OFM-based segmentation method has the potential to supplement the manual delineation approach that is currently used in radiation oncology clinics for radiation treatment planning.

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