New methods for the geometrical analysis of tubular organs

Florent Grélard (1) , Fabien Baldacci (1) , Anne Vialard (1) , Jean-Philippe Domenger (1)

1 LaBRI - Laboratoire Bordelais de Recherche en Informatique

This paper introduces new methods to study the shape of tubular organs. Determining precise cross-sections is of major importance to perform geometrical measurements, such as diameter, wall-thickness estimation or area measurement. Our first contribution is a robust method to estimate orthogonal planes based on the Voronoi Covariance Measure. Our method is not relying on a curve-skeleton computation beforehand. This means our orthogonal plane estimator can be used either on the skeleton or on the volume. Another important step towards tubular organ characterization is achieved through curve-skeletonization, as skeletons allow to compare two tubular organs, and to perform virtual endoscopy. Our second contribution is dedicated to correcting common defects of the skeleton by new pruning and recentering methods. Finally, we propose a new method for curve-skeleton extraction.

Mots clés: Voronoï covariance measure; Centerlines; Tubular organ analysis; Orthogonal planes

Domaines: Imagerie médicale

Florent Grélard, Fabien Baldacci, Anne Vialard, Jean-Philippe Domenger. New methods for the geometrical analysis of tubular organs. Medical Image Analysis, 2017, 42, pp.89 - 101. ⟨10.1016/j.media.2017.07.008⟩. ⟨hal-01618611⟩