A knowledge-based approach to automatic detection of the spinal cord in CT images
A knowledge-based approach to automatic detection of the spinal cord in CT images
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DOI：
10.1109/tmi.2002.806578
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发表时间：
2002-12-01
影响因子：
10.6
通讯作者：
Germond, JF
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Archip, N;Erard, PJ;Germond, JF
放射治疗的准确规划需要治疗体积的定义和正常组织的明确界定，其中应防止不必要的照射。脊髓是一个对辐射敏感的器官，应该精确识别，因为过度暴露于辐射可能导致患者出现不希望的并发症，如神经元功能障碍或瘫痪。在本文中，提出了一种基于知识的方法来识别脊髓的胸部计算机断层扫描图像。该方法依赖于一个知识库，其中包括一个所谓的解剖结构图（ASM）和一个面向任务的架构称为计划求解器。ASM包含人类胸腔中的宏观解剖结构的框架状知识表示。计划求解器负责确定放射治疗感兴趣的结构的位置、方向和尺寸。计划求解器依赖于多个图像处理运算符。有些是所谓的原子（例如，而其他的，则是一个一个的组合。整个系统已在一台标准PC机上实现。对23名患者的图像材料进行的实验表明，该方法可以可靠地识别脊髓（92%的准确率）和椎管（85%的准确率）。椎板更难正确定位（准确率72%）。外胸的位置总是被正确地确定。
Accurate planning of radiation therapy entails the definition of treatment volumes and a clear delimitation of normal tissue of which unnecessary exposure should be prevented. The spinal cord is a radiosensitive organ, which should be precisely identified because an overexposure to radiation may lead to undesired complications for the patient such as neuronal disfunction or paralysis. In this paper, a knowledge-based approach to identifying the spinal cord in computed tomography images of the thorax is presented. The approach relies on a knowledge-base which consists of a so-called anatomical structures map (ASM) and a task-oriented architecture called the plan solver. The ASM contains a frame-like knowledge representation of the macro-anatomy in the human thorax. The plan solver is responsible for determining the position, orientation and size of the structures of interest to radiation therapy. The plan solver relies on a number of image processing operators. Some are so-called atomic (e.g., thresholding and snakes) whereas others are composite. The whole system has been implemented on a standard PC. Experiments performed on the image material from 23 patients show that the approach results in a reliable recognition of the spinal cord (92% accuracy) and the spinal canal (85% accuracy). The lamina is more problematic to locate correctly (accuracy 72%). The position of the outer thorax is always determined correctly.