Resumo (PT):
Abstract (EN):
Multiple strategies have previously been described for atrial region (i.e. atrial bodies and aortic tract)
segmentation. Although these techniques have proven their accuracy, inadequate results in the mid atrial
walls are common, restricting their application for specific cardiac interventions. In this work, we introduce a novel competitive strategy to perform atrial region segmentation with correct delineation of
the thin mid walls, and integrated it into the B-spline Explicit Active Surfaces framework. A doublestage segmentation process is used, which starts with a fast contour growing followed by a refinement
stage with local descriptors. Independent functions are used to define each region, being afterward combined to compete for the optimal boundary. The competition locally constrains the surface evolution, prevents overlaps and allows refinement to the walls. Three different scenarios were used to demonstrate
the advantages of the proposed approach, through the evaluation of its segmentation accuracy, and its
performance for heterogeneous mid walls. Both computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging
datasets were used, presenting results similar to the state-of-the-art methods for both atria and aorta. The
competitive strategy showed its superior performance with statistically significant differences against the
traditional free-evolution approach in cases with bad image quality or missed atrial/aortic walls. Moreover, only the competitive approach was able to accurately segment the atrial/aortic wall. Overall, the
proposed strategy showed to be suitable for atrial region segmentation with a correct segmentation of
the mid thin walls, demonstrating its added value with respect to the traditional techniques.
Language:
English
Type (Professor's evaluation):
Scientific
No. of pages:
15