Graph-Based Slice-to-Volume Deformable Registration

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Summary *

Deformable image registration is a fundamental problem in computer vision and medical image computing. In this paper we investigate the use of graphical models in the context of a particular type of image registration problem, known as slice-to-volume registration. We introduce a scalable, modular and flexible formulation that can accommodate low-rank and high order terms, that simultaneously selects the plane and estimates the in-plane deformation through a single shot optimization approach. The proposed framework is instantiated into different variants seeking either a compromise between computational efficiency (soft plane selection constraints and approximate definition of the data similarity terms through pair-wise components) or exact definition of the data terms and the constraints on the plane selection. Simulated and real-data in the context of ultrasound and magnetic resonance registration (where both framework instantiations as well as different optimization strategies are considered) demonstrate the potentials of our method. Information provided by the agent in SIGEVA