Liver Segmentation in Contrast Enhanced MR Datasets Using a Probabilistic Active Shape and Appearance Model

The current standard for diagnosing liver tumors is contrast-enhanced multiphase computed tomography. On this basis, several software tools have been developed by different research groups worldwide to support physicians for example in measuring remnant liver volume, analyzing tumors, and planning resections. Several algorithms have been developed to perform these tasks. Most of the time, the segmentation of the liver is at the beginning of the processing chain. Therefore, a vast amount of CT-based liver segmentation algorithms have been developed. However, clinics slowly move from CT as the current gold standard for diagnosing liver diseases towards magnetic resonance imaging. In this work, we utilize a Probabilistic Active Shape Model with an MR specific preprocessing and appearance model to segment the liver in contrast enhanced MR images. Evaluation is based on 8 clinical datasets.