Partial volume tissue classification of multivariate MR images

A statistical classifier is described that classifies each tissue for the partial volume within each voxel, using the gray-level distribution of soft tissues. The classifier utilizes the image context information and is based on the Markov random field (MRF) image model. The classification algorithm proposed takes advantage of the fact that in magnetic resonance imaging multiple images can be obtained from the same anatomical section with different pulse sequences, with each image having different response characteristics for each soft tissue. The classification accuracy of the classifier was evaluated in terms of root-mean-squares estimation error. Results for a simulated and a real image are shown and discussed