Multi-contrast MR Image/Volume Alignment via ECC Maximization
Nikolaos Nikolikos, Nefeli Lamprinou, Anastasia Boile, Emmanouil Ζ. Psarakis · 2019
The multi-contrast MRI volume registration problem constitutes one of the basic steps in many computer vision applications. Since different types of MRI images have totally different intensity distributions, the use of well known area based image alignment techniques does not consist a good choice for the solution of the problem at hand. In this paper the usage of Self Quotient Volumes as an efficient representation of the candidate volumes, to permit the exploitation of area based techniques, is proposed. In addition, a well known "signal" similarity measure based on the Enhanced Correlation Coefficient, is adapted for solving the volume alignment problem. From the application of the proposed technique in a series of experiments with artificial, as well as real, MRI brain sequences and its comparison against state of the art volume registration techniques it seems that its performance is better for both types (same and different contrast) of alignment problem.