title: Automatic SWI Venography Segmentation Using Conditional Random Fields.
abstract: Susceptibility-weighted imaging (SWI) venography can produce detailed venous contrast and complement arterial dominated MR angiography (MRA) techniques. However, these dense reversed-contrast SWI venograms pose new segmentation challenges. We present an automatic method for whole-brain venous blood segmentation in SWI using Conditional Random Fields (CRF). The CRF model combines different first and second order potentials. First-order association potentials are modeled as the composite of an appearance potential, a Hessian-based shape potential and a non-linear location potential. Second-order interaction potentials are modeled using an auto-logistic (smoothing) potential and a data-dependent (edge) potential. Minimal post-processing is used for excluding voxels outside the brain parenchyma and visualizing the surface vessels. The CRF model is trained and validated using 30 SWI venograms acquired within a population of deep brain stimulation (DBS) patients (age range [Formula: see text] years). Results demonstrate robust and consistent segmentation in deep and sub-cortical regions (median kappa = 0.84 and 0.82), as well as in challenging mid-sagittal and surface regions (median kappa = 0.81 and 0.83) regions. Overall, this CRF model produces high-quality segmentation of SWI venous vasculature that finds applications in DBS for minimizing hemorrhagic risks and other surgical and non-surgical applications.
authors.forename: Silvain
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bériault
authors.forename: Yiming
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.forename: D Louis
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Collins
authors.forename: G Bruce
authors.initials: GB
authors.lastname: Pike
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002550:Cerebral Veins / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D002560:Cerebrovascular Circulation / Q000502:physiology; D046690:Deep Brain Stimulation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010690:Phlebography / Q000379:methods*; D025321:Surgery, Computer-Assisted