Abstract
Purpose
We present a GPU-based framework to perform organ segmentation in N-dimensional (ND) medical image datasets by computation of weighted distances using the Ford–Bellman algorithm (FBA). Our GPU implementation of FBA gives an alternative and optimized solution to other graph-based segmentation techniques.
Methods
Given a number of K labelled-seeds, the segmentation algorithm evolves and segments the ND image in K objects. Each region is guaranteed to be connected to seeds with the same label. The method uses a Cellular Automata (CA) to compute multiple shortest-path-trees based on the FBA. The segmentation result is obtained by K-cuts of the graph in order to separate it in K sets. A quantitative evaluation of the method was performed by measuring renal volumes of 20 patients based on magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) acquisitions. Inter-observer reproducibility, accuracy and validity were calculated and associated computing times were recorded. In a second step, the computational performances were evaluated with different graphics hardware and compared to a CPU implementation of the method using Dijkstra’s algorithm.
Results
The ICC for inter-observer reproducibility of renal volume measurements was 0.998 (0.997–0.999) for two radiologists and the absolute mean difference between the two readers was lower than 1.2% of averaged renal volumes. The validity analysis shows an excellent agreement of our method with the results provided by a supervised segmentation method, used as reference.
Conclusions
The formulation of the FBA in the form of a CA is simple, efficient and straightforward, and can be implemented in low cost vendor-independent graphics hardware. The method can efficiently be applied to perform organ segmentation and quantitative evaluation in clinical routine.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Vezhnevets V, Konouchine V, Moscow R (2005) “GrowCut”-interactive multi-label NDImage segmentation by cellular automata. In: Proceedings of Graphicon, Novosibirsk Akademgorodok, Russia, pp 150–156
Bai X, Sapiro G (2007) A geodesic framework for fast interactive image and video segmentation and matting. In: IEEE 11th international conference on computer vision, pp 1–8
Qu Y, Wong TT, Heng PA (2006) Manga colorization. Proc ACM SIGGRAPH 25: 1214–1220
Konushin V, Vezhnevets V, Moscow R (2006) Interactive image colorization and recoloring based on coupled map lattices. In: Conference proceedings of Graphicon’2006 Novosibirsk Akademgorodok, Russia, pp 231–234
Yin L, Jian S, Chi-Keung T, Heung-Yeung S (2004) Lazy snapping. In: ACM SIGGRAPH 2004 papers. ACM, Los Angeles
Rother C, Kolmogorov V, Blake A (2004) GrabCut: interactive foreground extraction using iterated graph cuts. ACM Trans Graph (TOG) 23: 309–314
Mortensen EN, Barrett WA (1998) Interactive segmentation with intelligent scissors. Graph Models Image Process 60: 349–384
Boykov Y, Jolly MP (2000) Interactive organ segmentation using graph cuts. In: Proceedings of the medical image computing and computer-assisted intervention, pp 276–286
Xu N, Ahuja N, Bansal R (2007) Object segmentation using graph cuts based active contours. Comput Vis Image Underst 107: 210–224
Protiere A, Sapiro G (2007) Interactive image segmentation via adaptive weighted distances. IEEE Trans Image Process 16: 1046
Chefd’hotel C, Sebbane A (2007) Random walk and front propagation on watershed adjacency graphs for multilabel image segmentation. In: IEEE 11th international conference on computer vision, pp 1–7
Falcão AX, Stolfi J, de Alencar Lotufo R (2004) The image foresting transform: theory, algorithms, and applications. IEEE Trans Pattern Anal Mach Intell 26: 19–29
Sinop AK, Grady L (2007) A seeded image segmentation framework unifying graph cuts and random walker which yields a new algorithm. In: IEEE 11th international conference on computer vision, pp 1–8
Boykov Y, Funka-Lea G (2006) Graph cuts and efficient NDImage segmentation. Int J Comput Vis 70: 109–131
Grady L, Funka-Lea G (2004) Multi-label image segmentation for medical applications based on graph-theoretic electrical potentials. In: ECCV2004 workshop, pp 230–245
Raspe M, Muller S (2007) Using a GPU-based framework for interactive tone mapping of medical volume data. In: SIGRAD, vol 28
Owens JD, Luebke D, Govindaraju N, Harris M, Kruger J, Lefohn AE, Purcell TJ (2007) A survey of general-purpose computation on graphics hardware. In: Computer graphics forum, pp 80–113
Vineet V, Narayanan PJ (2008) CUDA cuts: fast graph cuts on the GPU. In: IEEE CVPR workshops, pp 1–8
Dixit N, Keriven R, Paragios N (2005) GPU-Cuts: combinatorial optimisation, graphic processing units and adaptive object extraction. CERTIS, ENPC, Marne la Vallee, France
Volkov V, Demmel J (2007) Using GPUs to accelerate the bisection algorithm for finding eigenvalues of symmetric tridiagonal matrices. Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences, University of California, Berkeley
Aharon S, Grady L, Schiwietz T (2005) GPU accelerated isoperimetric algorithm for image segmentation, digital photo and video editing. In: Google Patents
Von Neumann J, Burks AW (1966) Theory of self-reproducing automata. University of Illinois Press, Urbana
Wolfram S (2002) A new kind of science. Wolfram Media, Champaign
Ganguly N, Sikdar BK, Deutsch A, Canright G, Chaudhuri PP (2003) A survey on cellular automata. Dresden University of Technology, Technical Report Centre for High Performance Computing
Gardner M (1970) Mathematical games: the fantastic combinations of John Conway’s New Solitaire Game ‘Life’. Sci Am 223: 120–123
Zhao Y (2008) Lattice Boltzmann based PDE solver on the GPU. Vis Comput 24: 323–333
Gobron S, Devillard F, Heit B (2007) Retina simulation using cellular automata and GPU programming. Mach Vis Appl 18: 331–342
Alonso Atienza F, Requena Carrión J, García Alberola A, Rojo Álvarez JL, SÁnchez Muñoz JJ, Martínez SÁnchez J, Valdés Chávarri M (2005) A probabilistic model of cardiac electrical activity based on a cellular automata system. Revista Española de Cardiología (Internet) 58: 41–47
Bellman R, Rand Corp Santa Monica Calif (1958) On a rooting problem. Q Appl Math 16:87–90
Ford LR, Fulkerson DR (1956) Maximal flow through a network. Can J Math 8: 399–404
Nepomniaschaya AS (2001) An associative version of the Bellman–Ford algorithm for finding the shortest paths in directed graphs. In: Parallel computing technologies, vol 2127. Springer, Berlin, pp 285–292
Kauffmann C, Piche N (2008) Cellular automaton for ultra-fast watershed transform on GPU. In: ICPR 2008. Tampa bay, FL, USA, pp 1–4
Dijkstra EW (1959) A note on two problems in connexion with graphs. Numer Math 1: 269–271
Yatziv L, Bartesaghi A, Sapiro G (2006) O (N) implementation of the fast marching algorithm. J Comput Phys 212: 393–399
Even S (1979) Graph algorithms, vol 249. Computer Science Press, Rockville
Fung J, Mann S (2008) Using graphics devices in reverse: GPU-based image processing and computer vision. In: IEEE international conference on multimedia and expo, pp 9–12
Gernot Z, Christian T, Ivo I, Marcus M, Art T, Hans-Peter S (2007) GPU-based light wavefront simulation for real-time refractive object rendering. In: ACM SIGGRAPH 2007 sketches. ACM, San Diego
Koutis I (2008) Faster algebraic algorithms for path and packing problems. In: Proceedings of the 35th international colloquium on automata, languages and programming, Part I. Springer, Reykjavik
Bolz J, Farmer I, Grinspun E, Schröoder P (2003) Sparse matrix solvers on the GPU: conjugate gradients and multigrid. In: International conference on computer graphics and interactive techniques, pp 917–924
Owens JD, Houston M, Luebke D, Green S, Stone JE, Phillips JC (2008) GPU computing. In: Proceedings of the IEEE, vol 96(5), May 2008
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Kauffmann, C., Piché, N. Seeded ND medical image segmentation by cellular automaton on GPU. Int J CARS 5, 251–262 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11548-009-0392-0
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11548-009-0392-0