X-ray digital subtraction angiography (DSA) images frequently suffer from misregistration artifacts. Commercial systems use whole-image manual and semi-automated registration techniques that can be tedious to use. Frequently, patient motion leads to complex artifacts that whole-image registration cannot remove. Available computer technology makes warping registration feasible and timely. We evaluated 6 different warping registration algorithms using 10 subjects. Image quality of subtracted images was evaluated using numerical scoring to specific image quality questions. To aid image quality comparison, images were displayed side-by-side on a single 21-inch monitor. The case mix consisted of 15 DSA images, with significant substraction artifacts, taken from the feet, legs, abdomen, chest and head. In 92% of cases, warping registration dramatically improved subtraction image quality while whole-image translation methods showed little or no improvement. It was also found that the most successful warping method varied from case to case. Based on this study, we propose a combination of warping registration techniques.

Date Published: 21 May 1999
PDF: 9 pages
Proc. SPIE 3661, Medical Imaging 1999: Image Processing, (21 May 1999); doi: 10.1117/12.348640

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 3661:
Medical Imaging 1999: Image Processing
Kenneth M. Hanson, Editor(s)