Projects:NonparametricSegmentation

Introduction

We propose a non-parametric, probabilistic model for the automatic segmentation of medical images, given a training set of images and corresponding label maps. The resulting inference algorithms we develop rely on pairwise registrations between the test image and individual training images. The training labels are then transferred to the test image and fused to compute a final segmentation of the test subject. Label fusion methods have been shown to yield accurate segmentation, since the use of multiple registrations captures greater inter-subject anatomical variability and improves robustness against occasional registration failures. To the best of our knowledge, this manuscript presents the first comprehensive probabilistic framework that rigorously motivates label fusion as a segmentation approach. The proposed framework allows us to compare different label fusion algorithms theoretically and practically. In particular, recent label fusion or multi-atlas segmentation algorithms are interpreted as special cases of our framework.