A hybrid segmentation method using MRF and GVF snakes
Alexander Rukletsov, Reinhard Männer · Proceedings of SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineering/Proceedings of SPIE · 2012
In this paper a hybrid method for segmentation of 2-D medical images of human organs is proposed. To capture object's global properties the Markov random fields (MRFs) are involved. The result of the MRF segmentation is used to recalculate gradient vector flow based snake external forces in a further snake progression step. A MRF MAP solution is estimated using the MMD algorithm. To reduce the computation time, MRF estimation is restricted only to sites, where the state uncertainty is higher than some threshold value. Tests on MR slices and ultrasound images of the left ventricle of the human heart are reported.