TY - JOUR
T1 - Automated, nonrigid alignment of clinical myocardial contrast echocardiography image sequences
T2 - Comparison with manual alignment
AU - Noble, J. Alison
AU - Dawson, Dana
AU - Lindner, Jonathan
AU - Sklenar, Jiri
AU - Kaul, Sanjiv
N1 - Funding Information:
JAN thanks the U.K. Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council for providing funding to support her sabbatical leave visit to UVA (GR R08537).
PY - 2002
Y1 - 2002
N2 - Analysis of myocardial contrast echocardiography (MCE) images is currently done by manual techniques. The development of computationally efficient methods for aligning images provides an important first step toward the automation of MCE analysis. This is challenging because a nonrigid transformation correction is required. In this paper, we evaluate a state-of-the-art nonrigid alignment method on clinical MCE image sequences (n = 58) acquired on patients during rest and dipyridamole stress, using both B-mode intermittent ultraharmonic (IUH) imaging and real-time myocardial perfusion imaging (RTMPI). Using manual alignment as the reference, we show quantitatively that the automated method aligns images as well as a human observer. However, the new method is faster and more reliable than manual alignment and removes the need for an experienced physician to perform it. The automated technique can be used for quick poststudy off-line analysis and has the potential to be incorporated into an ultrasound machine.
AB - Analysis of myocardial contrast echocardiography (MCE) images is currently done by manual techniques. The development of computationally efficient methods for aligning images provides an important first step toward the automation of MCE analysis. This is challenging because a nonrigid transformation correction is required. In this paper, we evaluate a state-of-the-art nonrigid alignment method on clinical MCE image sequences (n = 58) acquired on patients during rest and dipyridamole stress, using both B-mode intermittent ultraharmonic (IUH) imaging and real-time myocardial perfusion imaging (RTMPI). Using manual alignment as the reference, we show quantitatively that the automated method aligns images as well as a human observer. However, the new method is faster and more reliable than manual alignment and removes the need for an experienced physician to perform it. The automated technique can be used for quick poststudy off-line analysis and has the potential to be incorporated into an ultrasound machine.
KW - Automated quantification
KW - Contrast agents
KW - Myocardial contrast echocardiography
KW - Nonrigid image alignment
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U2 - 10.1016/S0301-5629(01)00461-6
DO - 10.1016/S0301-5629(01)00461-6
M3 - Article
C2 - 11879958
AN - SCOPUS:0036194688
SN - 0301-5629
VL - 28
SP - 115
EP - 123
JO - Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology
JF - Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology
IS - 1
ER -