3-D MRI cardiac segmentation using graph cuts

We consider the use of graph cuts technique to efficiently segment the full tissue volume of the entire heart or important parts of it such as ventricles in Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scans for different species. With the segmented 3-D volume of the heart, simulations of electrical waves propagating through the tissue can be done. The modeled wave results can then be compared directly to the experimental data. We use the graph cuts technique to achieve segmentation while letting the user initiate some of the energy cost function parameters. A Mumford-Shah type energy cost function is used. In addition to the data and smoothness terms, two spatial distance terms are incorporated to improve segmentation results. The user has the option of eliminating these terms in case the input data does not contain any useful spatial distance content.