An atlas-based fuzzy connectedness method for automatic tissue classification in brain MRI

A framework incorporating a subject-registered atlas into the fuzzy connectedness (FC) method is proposed for the automatic tissue classification of 3D images of brain MRI. The pre-labeled atlas is first registered onto the subject to provide an initial approximate segmentation. The initial segmentation is used to estimate the intensity histograms of gray matter and white matter. Based on the estimated intensity histograms, multiple seed voxels are assigned to each tissue automatically. The normalized intensity histograms are utilized in the FC method as the intensity probability density function (PDF) directly. Relative fuzzy connectedness technique is adopted in the final classification of gray matter and white matter. Experimental results based on the 20 data sets from IBSR are included, as well as comparisons of the performance of our method with that of other published methods. This method is fully automatic and operator-independent. Therefore, it is expected to find wide applications, such as 3D visualization, radiation therapy planning, and medical database construction.