Atlas-based segmentation using level sets and fuzzy labels

Abstract

We propose to segment volumetric structures with an atlas-based level set method. The classical formulation of the level set evolution force presents a stopping criterion, a directional term and a regularization term. Fuzzy labels registered from an atlas provide useful information allowing to automatically tune the respective influence of the different terms according to the desired application. This is done with a fuzzy decision system based on simple rules corresponding to an expert knowledge. Two applications are presented in details in the context of 3D brain MRI: the segmentation of white matter with the tuning of the regularization term, and the segmentation of the right hemisphere. Experimental results on the MNI Brainweb dataset and on a database of real MRI volumes are presented and discussed. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2004.