A new method based on template registration and deformable models for pelvic bones semi-automatic segmentation in pediatric MRI

In this paper we address the problem of bone segmentation in MRI images of children, in the region of the pelvis. To cope with the complex structure of the bones in this region and their changing topology during growth, we propose a method relying on 3D bone templates. These models are built from 3D CT images. For a given MRI volume, the closest template is chosen and registered on the MRI data. This leads to an initial segmentation which is then refined using a deformable model approach, where the regularization parameters depend on the local curvature, and the landmarks used during the registration are fixed anchors during the deformation. This approach was successfully applied to 15 MRI volumes of children between 1 and 18 years old, with an average accuracy in terms of medium distance of MD = 1.17 ± 0.29mm and Dice Index of DC = 0.81 ± 0.04.