Accurate segmentation of vascular networks is essential for computer-aided tools designed to address cardiovascular diseases. Despite more than thirty years of research, it remains a challenge to obtain vascular segmentation results that preserve the connectivity of the underlying vascular network. Yet connectivity is one of the key features of these tools. In this work, we propose a post-processing algorithm aiming to reconnect vascular structures that have been disconnected by a segmentation algorithm. Connectivity being a complex property to model explicitly, we propose to learn this geometric feature either through synthetic data or annotations of the application of interest. The resulting post-processing model can be used on the output of any supervised or unsupervised vascular segmentation algorithm. We show that this post-processing effectively restores the connectivity of vascular networks both in 2D and 3D images, leading to improved overall segmentation results.

错误:搜索内容不能为空,请输入英文关键词
错误:关键词超出字数限制,请精简
高级检索

Restoring Connectivity in Vascular Segmentations Using a Learned Post-processing Model

  • Sophie Carneiro-Esteves,
  • Antoine Vacavant,
  • Odyssée Merveille

摘要

Accurate segmentation of vascular networks is essential for computer-aided tools designed to address cardiovascular diseases. Despite more than thirty years of research, it remains a challenge to obtain vascular segmentation results that preserve the connectivity of the underlying vascular network. Yet connectivity is one of the key features of these tools. In this work, we propose a post-processing algorithm aiming to reconnect vascular structures that have been disconnected by a segmentation algorithm. Connectivity being a complex property to model explicitly, we propose to learn this geometric feature either through synthetic data or annotations of the application of interest. The resulting post-processing model can be used on the output of any supervised or unsupervised vascular segmentation algorithm. We show that this post-processing effectively restores the connectivity of vascular networks both in 2D and 3D images, leading to improved overall segmentation results.