The automatic interpretation of three-dimensional fetal images poses specific challenges compared to other three-dimensional diagnostic data, especially since the orientation of the fetus in the uterus and the position of the extremities is highly variable. In this paper, we present a comprehensive articulated model of the fetal skeleton and the adaptation of the articulation for pose estimation in three-dimensional fetal images. The model is composed out of rigid bodies where the articulations are represented as rigid body transformations. Given a set of target landmarks, the model constellation can be estimated by optimization of the pose parameters. Experiments are carried out on 3D fetal MRI data yielding an average error per case of 12.03±3.36 mm between target and estimated landmark positions.

Date Published: 20 March 2015
PDF: 7 pages
Proc. SPIE 9413, Medical Imaging 2015: Image Processing, 94130Q (20 March 2015); doi: 10.1117/12.2081139

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 9413:
Medical Imaging 2015: Image Processing
Sébastien Ourselin; Martin A. Styner, Editor(s)