Title :
A shape-space-based approach to tracking myocardial borders and quantifying regional left-ventricular function applied in echocardiography
Author :
Jacob, Gary ; Noble, J. Alison ; Behrenbruch, Christian ; Kelion, Andrew D. ; Banning, Adrian P.
Author_Institution :
Dept. of Eng. Sci., Oxford Univ., UK
fDate :
3/1/2002 12:00:00 AM
Abstract :
Presents a new semi-automatic method for quantifying regional heart function from two-dimensional echocardiography. In the approach, we first track the endocardial and epicardial boundaries using a new variant of the dynamic snake approach. The tracked borders are then decomposed into clinically meaningful regional parameters, using a novel interpretational shape-space motivated by the 16-segment model used in clinical practice for qualitative assessment of heart function. We show how a quantitative and automatic scoring scheme for the endocardial excursion and myocardial thickening can be derived from this. Results illustrating our approach on apical long-axis two-chamber-view data from a patient with a myocardial infarct in the apical anterior/inferior region of the heart are presented. In a case study (five patients, nine data sets) the performance of the tracking and interpretation techniques are compared with manual delineations of borders using a number of quantitative measures of regional comparison.
Keywords :
diseases; echocardiography; edge detection; feature extraction; image segmentation; image sequences; medical image processing; 16-segment model; apical anterior region; apical long-axis two-chamber-view data; automatic scoring scheme; clinical practice; clinically meaningful regional parameters; dynamic snake approach; echocardiography; endocardial boundaries; endocardial excursion; epicardial boundaries; heart disease; heart function; inferior region; interpretational shape-space; manual border delineations; myocardial border tracking; myocardial infarct; myocardial thickening; qualitative assessment; regional comparison; regional heart function; regional left-ventricular function; semi-automatic method; shape-space-based approach; tracked borders; two-dimensional echocardiography; Cardiac disease; Echocardiography; Heart; Jacobian matrices; Manuals; Motion analysis; Myocardium; Time measurement; Ultrasonic imaging; Ultrasonic variables measurement; Algorithms; Echocardiography; Elasticity; Heart; Humans; Image Enhancement; Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted; Models, Cardiovascular; Models, Statistical; Movement; Myocardial Contraction; Myocardial Infarction; Sensitivity and Specificity; Ventricular Dysfunction, Left;
Journal_Title :
Medical Imaging, IEEE Transactions on
