Robust fitting of a point distribution model of the prostate using genetic algorithms

A Point Distribution Model (PDM) of the prostate has been constructed and used to automatically outline the contour of the gland in transurethral ultrasound images. We developed a new, two stage, method: first the PDM is fitted, using a multi-population genetic algorithm, to a binary image produced from Bayesian pixel classification. This contour is then used during the second stage to seed the initial population of a simple genetic algorithm, which adjusts the PDM to the prostate boundary on a grey level image. The method is able to find good approximations of the prostate boundary in a robust manner. The method and its results on 4 prostate images are reported.