title: Development of an accelerated GVF semi-automatic contouring algorithm for radiotherapy treatment planning.
abstract: Fast contouring is important in image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT) and adaptive radiation therapy (ART) where large computed tomography (CT) volumes have to be segmented. In this study, a modified active contour (also called snake) segmentation method based on a faster gradient-vector-flow (GVF) calculation algorithm is proposed. The accelerated method was tested on multiple organs, including lung, right ventricle, kidney and prostate. Compared to the original algorithm, the improved one reduced GVF calculation times to one-half or less without compromising contour accuracy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35249, USA. xnwu@uabmc.edu
authors.forename: Xingen
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Sharon A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Spencer
authors.forename: Sui
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.forename: John B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Fiveash
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Duan
authors.forename: Ivan A
authors.initials: IA
authors.lastname: Brezovich
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D006338:Heart Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000532:radiotherapy; D006801:Humans; D007680:Kidney Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000532:radiotherapy; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000532:radiotherapy; D008297:Male; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000532:radiotherapy; D011880:Radiotherapy Planning, Computer-Assisted / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000706:statistics & numerical data