A generic framework for non-rigid registration based on non-uniform multi-level free-form deformations

Abstract

This work presents a framework for non-rigid registration which extends and generalizes a previously developed technique by Rueckert et al. [1]. We combine multi-resolution optimization with free-form deformations (FFDs) based on multi-level B-splines to simulate a non-uniform control point distribution. We have applied this to a number of different medical registration tasks to demonstrate its wide applicability, including interventional MRI brain tissue deformation compensation, breathing motion compensation in liver MRI, intramodality inter-modality registration of pre-operative brain MRI to CT electrode implant data, and inter-subject registration of brain MRI. Our results demonstrate that the new algorithm can successfully register images with an improved performance, while achieving a significant reduction in run-time.