A multiscale dynamic programming procedure for boundary detection in ultrasonic artery images
Quan Liang
Wendelhag, I.
Wikstrand, J.
Gustavsson, T.
Dept. of Signals & Syst., Chalmers Univ. of Technol., Goteborg, Sweden;
This paper appears in: Medical Imaging, IEEE Transactions on
Publication Date: Feb. 2000
Volume: 19,
Issue: 2
On page(s): 127-142
Location: Davis, CA, USA,
ISSN: 0278-0062
References Cited: 30
CODEN: ITMID4
INSPEC Accession Number: 6578544
Digital Object Identifier: 10.1109/42.836372
Current Version Published: 2002-08-06
Abstract
Ultrasonic measurements of human carotid and femoral artery walls are conventionally obtained by manually tracing interfaces between tissue layers. The drawbacks of this method are the interobserver variability and inefficiency. Here, the authors present a new automated method which reduces these problems. By applying a multiscale dynamic programming (DP) algorithm, approximate vessel wall positions are first estimated in a coarse-scale image, which then guide the detection of the boundaries in a fine-scale image. In both cases, DP is used for finding a global optimum for a cost function. The cost function is a weighted sum of terms, in fuzzy expression forms, representing image features and geometrical characteristics of the vessel interfaces. The weights are adjusted by a training procedure using human expert tracings. Operator interventions, if needed, also take effect under the framework of global optimality. This reduces the amount of human intervention and, hence, variability due to subjectiveness. By incorporating human knowledge and experience, the algorithm becomes more robust. A thorough evaluation of the method in the clinical environment shows that interobserver variability is evidently decreased and so is the overall analysis time. The authors conclude that the automated procedure can replace the manual procedure and leads to an improved performance.
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