NA-MIC/Projects/Collaboration/NIREP: Non-rigid Image Registration Evaluation

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NIREP application splash screen

Key Investigators

• Gary Christensen, Iowa (NIREP principal investigator)
• Jeffrey Hawley (NIREP software developer)
• Ying Wei (NIREP software developer)
• Kate Rasing (NIREP software developer)

Objective

We have started the Non-rigid Image Registration Evaluation Project (NIREP) to develop software tools and provide shared image validation databases for rigorous testing of non-rigid image registration algorithms. NIREP will extend the scope of prior validation projects by developing evaluation criteria and metrics using large image populations, using richly annotated image databases, using computer simulated data, and increasing the number and types of evaluation criteria.

The goal of this project is to establish, maintain, and endorse a standardized set of relevant benchmarks and metrics for performance evaluation of nonrigid image registration algorithms. Furthermore, these standards will be incorporated into an exportable computer program to automatically evaluate the registration accuracy of nonrigid image registration algorithms.

Approach, Plan

We plan to do the following tasks to improve the NIREP software package:

• Learn the best way to break the VTK & ITK pipelines
• Implement streaming of images in NIREP software
• Learn how other tools combine images, landmarks, contours, surfaces, etc. into a composite image.
• Discuss design of the Database Manager and investigate how database managers are implemented in other tools.
• Use CPack to package the NIREP program.
• Setup and use a DART Dashboard at Iowa
• Investigate integration of wxWidgets with ITK and VTK.

Progress

References

This work was supported in part by NIH grants EB004126, CA096679 and HL64368.

• Link to NIREP web site:
• The STARD Initiative -- Towards Complete and Accurate Reporting of Studies on Diagnostic Accuracy
• SPIE Medical Imaging: Validation in Medical Image Registration Workshop, Feb. 18, 2007
• IEEE Transactions on Medical Imaging, Special Issue on Validation in Medical Image Processing 25(11), Nov. 2006 (need access to IEEE explore to view papers)
• P. Hellier, C. Barillot, I. Corouge, B. Gibaud, G. Le Goualher, D. L. Collins, A. Evans, G. Malandain, N. Ayache, G. E. Christensen, and H. J. Johnson, Retrospective Evaluation of Intersubject Brain Registration, IEEE Transactions on Medical Imaging, 22(9) 2003, pp. 1120-1130 (need access to IEEE explore to view paper)
• P. Jannin, C. Grova, C.R. Maurer, Model for defining and reporting reference-based validation protocols in medical image processing, International Journal of Computer Assisted Radiology and Surgery, 1(2), August 2006.
• P. Jannin, M. Fitzpatrick, D. Hawkes, X. Pennec, R. Shahidi, and M.W. Vannier, Editorial: Validation of Medical Image Processing in Image-Guided Therapy, IEEE Transactions on Medical Imaging, 21(11), 2002, pp. 1445-1449.