Vessels Segmentation

 

CTA and CE-MRA are non-invasive imaging modalities which allow an excellent visualization of the vasculature and
well-accepted techniques for studying vessels, as well as diagnosing vascular pathologies. In the last years, CTA has
revolutionized vascular imaging. Vessels 1-2 mm in diameter can be visualized and diagnostically evaluated. The
acquisition of 3D data volumes makes it possible to generate angiographic views that facilitate anatomic orientation.
CE-MRA offers competitive results to CTA, although spatial resolution is often lower than with multislice CT scanning.
The lack of ionizing radiation of MRA is important in young patients and for vascular screening.
Although CTA and CE-MRA rapidly acquire volumetric data sets, it’s processing and visualization is difficult. In these
images, vessels are presented with discontinuities and occlusions due to different factors, such as pathological
conditions, disease states, the variations in contrast used to emphasize vessels and partial volume effects. To
overcome these limitations specialized segmentation techniques are required. In the context of this project we will
focus on vessel segmentation from CTA and MRA imaging. One of main limitation of current segmentation
techniques is the high degree of user interaction they require. They also present limitations in the case of
bifurcations because the possibilities of how to proceed are ambiguous.
On the other hand, the number of parameters that can be acquired makes difficult their representation. It is not
clear which and how information has to be presented to the user. In the context of this project we will also propose
new visualization to techniques that provide to the user as much information as possible.