title: Multiple hypothesis template tracking of small 3D vessel structures.
abstract: A multiple hypothesis tracking approach to the segmentation of small 3D vessel structures is presented. By simultaneously tracking multiple hypothetical vessel trajectories, low contrast passages can be traversed, leading to an improved tracking performance in areas of low contrast. This work also contributes a novel mathematical vessel template model, with which an accurate vessel centerline extraction is obtained. The tracking is fast enough for interactive segmentation and can be combined with other segmentation techniques to form robust hybrid methods. This is demonstrated by segmenting both the liver arteries in CT angiography data, which is known to pose great challenges, and the coronary arteries in 32 CT cardiac angiography data sets in the Rotterdam Coronary Artery Algorithm Evaluation Framework, for which ground-truth centerlines are available.
authors.affiliation: Fraunhofer MEVIS, Universitätsallee 29, 28359 Bremen, Germany. ola.friman@mevis.fraunhofer.de
authors.forename: Ola
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Friman
authors.forename: Milo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hindennach
authors.forename: Caroline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kühnel
authors.forename: Heinz-Otto
authors.initials: HO
authors.lastname: Peitgen
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D017023:Coronary Angiography / Q000379:methods*; D006499:Hepatic Artery / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D006801:Humans; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional / Q000379:methods*; D010363:Pattern Recognition, Automated / Q000379:methods*; D011856:Radiographic Image Enhancement / Q000379:methods; D011857:Radiographic Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods*