3D Soft Segmentation and Visualization of Medical Data Based on Nonlinear Diffusion and Distance Functions

Files

331-338.pdf (418.31 KB)

Date

2006

Authors

Petersch, B.
Serrano-Serrano, O.
Hönigmann, D.

Publisher

The Eurographics Association

Abstract

Visualization of medical 3D data is a complex problem, since the raw data is often unsuitable for standard techniques like Direct Volume Rendering. Some kind of pre-treatment is necessary, usually segmentation of the structures of interest, which in turn is a difficult task. Most segmentation techniques yield a model without indicating any uncertainty. Visualization then can be misleading, especially if the original data is of poor contrast. We address this dilemma proposing a geometric approach based on distance on image manifolds and an alternative approach based on nonlinear diffusion. An effective algorithm solving Hamilton-Jacobi equations allows for computing a distance function for 2D and 3D manifolds at interactive rates. An efficient implementation of a semi-implicit operator splitting scheme accomplishes interactivity for the diffusion-based strategy. We establish a model which incorporates local information about its reliability and can be visualized with standard techniques. When interpreting the result of the segmentation in a diagnostic setting, this information is of utmost importance.

        @inproceedings{:10.2312/VisSym/EuroVis06/331-338
,
booktitle = {EUROVIS - Eurographics /IEEE VGTC Symposium on Visualization
},
editor = {Beatriz Sousa Santos and Thomas Ertl and Ken Joy
},
title = {{3D Soft Segmentation and Visualization of Medical Data Based on Nonlinear Diffusion and Distance Functions
}},
author = {Petersch, B. and 
Serrano-Serrano, O. and 
Hönigmann, D.
},
year = {2006
},
publisher = {The Eurographics Association
},
ISSN = {1727-5296
},
ISBN = {3-905673-31-2
},
DOI = {/10.2312/VisSym/EuroVis06/331-338
}
}