Method and System for Extracting Centerline Representation of Vascular Structures in Medical Images Via Optimal Paths in Computational Flow Fields

摘要

A method and apparatus for extracting centerline representations of vascular structures in medical images is disclosed. A vessel orientation tensor for each of a plurality of voxels associated with the target vessel, such as a coronary artery, in a medical image, such as a coronary tomography angiography (CTA) image, using a trained vessel orientation tensor classifier. A flow field is estimated for the plurality of voxels associated with the target vessel in the medical image based on the vessel orientation tensor estimated for each of the plurality of voxels. A centerline of the target vessel is extracted based on the estimated flow field for the plurality of vessels associated with the target vessel in the medical image by detecting a path that carries maximum flow.