Automated scoring of fetal abdomen ultrasound scan-planes for biometry

Biometry on the Ultrasound images of the fetal abdomen aids in determining fetal well being. Finding standard scanplane requires the human operator to possess a high degree of skill/expertise. This paper describes an automatic method for scan-plane identification of the fetal abdomen based on the spatial configuration of key anatomical landmarks - spine, stomach and vein. A novel Biometry Suitability Index (BSI) using the detected anatomical landmarks indicates whether a scan-plane can be used for biometry. A training database of 90 images was used to build a spatial configuration model the of the landmarks. Employing relatively simple individual detectors and relying primarily on the configuration model, the landmarks were located and tracked across frames/scanplanes in videos. The Biometry Suitability Index computed over video sequences was seen to closely mimic the expert's assessment of scan-plane quality for biometry.