Color Flow Image Segmentation

摘要

In color flow imaging (CFI), blood flow is estimated from a sequence of 8 to 32 temporal samples using Doppler effects. Most existing techniques are local in that the flow at a spatial location is estimated using its own and, possibly, neighboring temporal samples. As a result, the estimates can often be severely affected by background clutter (e.g., tissue and tissue motion), leading to fragmented/spotty color flow. In this work, we developed a more global technique that segments the temporal samples into connected and smooth spatial regions of blood flow and tissue, thereby improving flow visualization and potentially, flow estimates.