Integration of statistical spatial relations into Active Shape Model- Application to striatum segmentation in MRI

Abstract

This paper describes a new method based on Active Shape Model (ASM) and statistical spatial relations. It combines three types of a priori knowledge: the structures shapes, the distance and the angle variability between them. This knowledge is estimated during a training step. Then, the obtained models are used to guide the evolution of initial shapes during the segmentation step. The proposed method is applied to extract the striatum (Caudate nucleus and Putamen) on MR images of the brain. The obtained results are promising and show the performance of the proposed method.