Title
Analysis of vasculature for liver surgical planning
Abstract
For liver surgical planning, the structure and morphology of the hepatic vessels and their relationship to tumors are of major interest. To achieve a fast and robust assistance with optimal quantitative and visual information, we present methods for a geometrical and structural analysis of vessel systems. Starting from the raw image data a sequence of image processing steps has to be carried out until a three-dimensional representation of the relevant anatomic and pathologic structures is generated. Based on computed tomography (CT) scans, the following steps are performed. 1) The volume data is preprocessed and the vessels are segmented. 2) The skeleton of the vessels is determined and transformed into a graph enabling a geometrical and structural shape analysis. Using this information the different intrahepatic vessel systems are identified automatically. 3) Based on the structural analysis of the branches of the portal vein, their vascular territories are approximated with different methods. These methods are compared and validated anatomically by means of corrosion casts of human livers. 4) Vessels are visualized with graphics primitives fitted to the skeleton to provide smooth visualizations without aliasing artifacts. The image analysis techniques have been evaluated in the clinical environment and have been used in more than 170 cases so far to plan interventions and transplantations.
Year
DOI
Venue
2002
10.1109/TMI.2002.801166
Medical Imaging, IEEE Transactions
Keywords
DocType
Volume
blood vessels,computerised tomography,feature extraction,image segmentation,liver,medical image processing,surgery,aliasing artifacts,clinical environment,computed tomography scans,corrosion casts,hepatic vessels,human livers,image analysis techniques,image processing steps sequence,optimal quantitative information,structural shape analysis,transplantations,vascular territories,volume data preprocessing
Journal
21
Issue
ISSN
Citations 
11
0278-0062
138
PageRank 
References 
Authors
8.08
26
4
Search Limit
100138
Name
Order
Citations
PageRank
Dirk Selle11398.69
Bernhard Preim21766235.86
Andrea Schenk331031.12
H O Peitgen425223.00