A new method for the segmentation of myocardial SPECT images is prcscntcd. It USCS cxtraction of crcst lines oT the surface defined by the gray level distribution in a given slice as low-level processing. This technique is robust with respect to defects. An active contour is then used to delineate the left-ventricle myocardial centerline. The choice of radial slices, instead of parallel ones, allows efficient covering of the left ventricle for myocardium "mid-surface" reconstruction.A direct application of this method is 3D-visualization of the radionuclide distribution with perfusion information mapping on this surface, which is expected to simplify the interpretation of cardiac SPECT studies.
A semi-automatical method for apical echocardiographic and myocardial TI-201 SPECT images registration is proposed. It uses oriented ellipses extracted from the LV myocardial center line in all images of the two modalities in one acquisition direction. These geometrical models allow SPECT-slice selection and 2D-registration, leading to a fused image involving the echographic image and its corresponding SPECT slice.The method was qualitatively evaluated with six patients, showing the potential usefulness of this tool in the study of myocardial ischemia and viability disease.
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