Medially Based Meshing with Finite Element Analysis of Prostate Deformation

The finite element method (FEM) is well suited for use in the non-rigid registration of magnetic resonance spectroscopy images (MRSI) with intraoperative ultrasound images of the prostate because FEM provides a principled method for modeling the physical deformation caused when the MRSI intra-rectal imaging probe compresses the prostate. However, FEM requires significant labor and computational time to construct a finite element model and solve the resulting large system of equations. In particular, any finite element based registration method must address the questions of how to generate a mesh from an image and how to solve the system of finite element equations efficiently. This paper focuses on how m-rep image segmentations can be used to generate high quality multi-scale hexahedral meshes for use with FEM. Results from the application of this method to the registration of CT images of a prostate phantom with implanted brachytherapy seeds are presented.

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2003
• Where: MICCAI
• Authors: Jessica R. Crouch, Stephen M. Pizer, Edward L. Chaney, Marco Zaider
• Keywords: Finite Element Equations, Finite Element Method, Finite Element Model, Medical Imaging, MICCAI 2003