Segmentation of the liver from abdominal MR images: a level-set approach

The usage of prior knowledge in segmentation of abdominal MR images enables more accurate and comprehensive interpretation about the organ to segment. Prior knowledge about abdominal organ like liver vessels can be employed to get an accurate segmentation of the liver that leads to accurate diagnosis or treatment plan. In this paper, a new method for segmenting the liver from abdominal MR images using liver vessels as prior knowledge is proposed. This paper employs the technique of level set method to segment the liver from MR abdominal images. The speed image used in the level set method is responsible for propagating and stopping region growing at boundaries. As a result of the poor contrast of the MR images between the liver and the surrounding organs i. e. stomach, kidneys, and heart causes leak of the segmented liver to those organs that lead to inaccurate or incorrect segmentation. For that reason, a second speed image is developed, as an extra term to the level set, to control the front propagation at weak edges with the help of the original speed image. The basic idea of the proposed approach is to use the second speed image as a boundary surface which is approximately orthogonal to the area of the leak. The aim of the new speed image is to slow down the level set propagation and prevent the leak in the regions close to liver boundary. The new speed image is a surface created by filling holes to reconstruct the liver surface. These holes are formed as a result of the exit and the entry of the liver vessels, and are considered the main cause of the segmentation leak. The result of the proposed method shows superior outcome than other methods in the literature.