PROSTATE BOUNDARY DETECTION IN ULTRASOUND IMAGES

这项建议的目的是提高经直肠超声(TRUS)在诊断和治疗前列腺疾病方面的有效性。TRUS是一种广泛应用于诊断、治疗和随访研究的关键成像技术。确定前列腺边界是TRUS成像的一个重要方面；边界提供疾病治疗、计划治疗程序和监测这些治疗进展所需的前列腺的解剖描述和体积。由于部分TRUS图像对比度较差且缺少边界，因此TRUS图像中前列腺边界的勾画高度依赖于操作员。计算机辅助勾画前列腺边界将为泌尿科医生提供一项有用的技术，减少目前与手动勾画有关的变异性和测量时间，从而实现更准确、更具成本效益和更高效的诊断和疾病治疗。我们将利用曲率驱动的图像处理技术和可变形模型来开发在TRUS图像中划定前列腺边界的方法。为了确定这些方法的可行性，在第一阶段，我们将在几个临床病例上评估这些技术。通过提高TRUS图像中测量前列腺边界的准确性和减少所需的时间，我们将能够增强TRUS在前列腺疾病诊断和治疗计划中的可用性和有效性。建议的商业应用：用于计算机辅助绘制TRUS图像边界的软件在前列腺疾病管理、诊断、治疗和随访的各个方面都有应用。该工具可以作为独立软件、现有放射治疗计划产品的附加软件或超声图像采集设备的内置功能进行商业化。

The goal of this proposal is to improve the effectiveness of transrectal ultrasound (TRUS) in diagnosing and treating prostate diseases. TRUS is a key imaging technology widely used in diagnosis, treatment and follow-up studies. Identification of prostate boundaries is an important aspect of TRUS imaging; boundaries provide the anatomical description and volume of the prostate needed for disease treatment, for planning treatment procedures and for monitoring the progression of these treatments. Delineation of prostate boundaries in TRUS images is highly operator-dependent because of poor contrast and missing boundaries in parts of TRUS images. Computer-aided delineation of prostate boundaries would provide urologists with a useful technique that will decrease both the variability currently associated with manual outlining and the measurement time, resulting in more accurate, cost-effective and efficient diagnosis and disease treatment. We will develop methods for prostate boundary delineation in TRUS images using curvature-driven image processing techniques and deformable models. To establish feasibility of these methods, in Phase I, we will evaluate these techniques on several clinical cases. By improving the accuracy and reducing the time required for measurement of prostate boundaries in TRUS images, we will be able to enhance the usability and effectiveness of TRUS in diagnosis and treatment planning of prostate diseases. PROPOSED COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS: A software for computer aided boundary delineation of TRUS images has applications in all aspects of prostate disease management, diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up. This tool could be commercialized as a stand- alone software, as an add-on software to exiting radiation treatment planning products, or as a built-in feature of ultrasound image acquisition equipment.