Segmentation of magnetic resonance images using 3D deformable models

A new method to segment MR volumes has been developed. The method matches elastically a 3D deformable prior model, describing the structures of interest, to the MR volume of a patient. The deformation is done using a deformation grid. Oriented distance maps are utilized to guide the deformation process. Two alternative restrictions are used to preserve the geometrical prior knowledge of the model. The method is applied to extract the body, the lungs and the heart. The segmentation is needed to build individualized boundary element models for bioelectromagnetic inverse problem. The method is fast, automatic and accurate. Good results have been achieved for four MR volumes tested so far.