Non-rigid Multi-modal Medical Image Registration: A Review

Abstract

Medical image registration is an important research topic in image processing field. It plays an important role in future analysis of medical images. Since in that field, the images are always obtained from different modalities and are deformed by non-rigid transform, the registration remains a challenging task for medical images. Many solutions have been put forward currently, but the maturity of these algorithms still remains to be improved. In this survey, we give an overview of these registration methods. We begin by introducing the framework and the elements of which non-rigid registration consists. This is followed by an overview of the classification of non-rigid registration methods, and then a more detailed analysis of the fundamental principle and the research process of the methods is provided. We conclude with a summary and promising future research directions.