In this paper, we present a new non-rigid target tracking method within 2D ultrasound (US) image sequence. Due to the poor quality of US images, the motion tracking of a tumor or cyst during needle insertion is considered as an open research issue. Our approach is based on well-known compression algorithm in order to make our method work in real-time which is a necessary condition for many clinical applications. Toward that end, we employed a dedicated hierarchical grid interpolation algorithm (HGI) which can represent a large variety of deformations compared to other motion estimation algorithms such as Overlapped Block Motion Compensation (OBMC), or Block Motion Algorithm (BMA). The sum of squared difference of image intensity is selected as similarity criterion because it provides a good trade-off between computation time and motion estimation quality. Contrary to the others methods proposed in the literature, our approach has the ability to distinguish both rigid and non-rigid motions which are observed in ultrasound image modality. Furthermore, this technique does not take into account any prior knowledge about the target, and limits the user interaction which usually complicates the medical validation process. Finally, a technique aiming at identifying the main phases of a periodic motion (e.g. breathing motion) is introduced. The new approach has been validated from 2D ultrasound images of real human tissues which undergo rigid and non-rigid deformations.

Date Published: 21 March 2014
PDF: 7 pages
Proc. SPIE 9034, Medical Imaging 2014: Image Processing, 90343O (21 March 2014); doi: 10.1117/12.2041923

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 9034:
Medical Imaging 2014: Image Processing
Sebastien Ourselin; Martin A. Styner, Editor(s)