Abstract: This paper describes a method for segmentation and recognition of hepatic blood vessels from axial MR image sequences. We propose a method of accurate segmentation of blood vessel components, and recognition of the blood vessel structure by utilizing two dimensional (2-D) and three dimensional (3-D) anatomical information. The method consists of two parts: (1) extraction of blood vessel components and other anatomical structures, and (2) recognition of 3-D blood vessel structure using anatomical models. The system first extracts candidates of hepatic blood vessel segments from each 2-D image automatically using the directional contrast filter and other image processing techniques. The contour of the liver is extracted semi- automatically. By using the knowledge about segmental anatomy and characteristics of the way blood vessels extend, the system searches for points connecting the segments in different slices and recognizes hepatic vascular system (portal veins and hepatic veins). The knowledge is implemented in a 2-D shape model and a tree model. !8
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