Live-wire 3D medical images segmentation

TL;DR

This paper enhances the Live-Wire method for 3D medical image segmentation by extending it to three dimensions, reducing user interaction, and improving accuracy through novel techniques.

Contribution

The paper introduces original enhancements to the Live-Wire segmentation method, including path heating and a variance-based edge feature, for improved 3D medical image segmentation.

Findings

Up to 33% reduction in user interaction

Improved delineation with strong interfering edges

Effective extension of 2D segmentation to 3D slices

Abstract

This report describes the design, implementation, evaluation and original enhancements to the Live-Wire method for 2D and 3D image segmentation. Live-Wire 2D employs a semi-automatic paradigm; the user is asked to select a few boundary points of the object to segment, to steer the process in the right direction, while the result is displayed in real time. In our implementation segmentation is extended to three dimensions by performing this process on a slice-by-slice basis. User's time and involvement is further reduced by allowing him to specify object contours in planes orthogonal to the slices. If these planes are chosen strategically, Live-Wire 3D can perform 2D segmentation in the plane of each slice automatically. This report also proposes two improvements to the original method, path heating and a new graph edge feature function based on variance of path properties along the boundary. We show that these improvements lead up to a 33% reduction in interaction with the user, and improved delineation in presence of strong interfering edges.