Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
4
Preparation
and Display of Image Data
Joseph V. Hajnal
CONTENTS
4.1 Introduction .................................................................................................. 71
4.2 Image Acquisition ........................................................................................ 72
4.3 Image Format Conversion .......................................................................... 77
4.4 Intensity, Size, and Skew Correction ......................................................... 80
4.5 Image Segmentation .................................................................................... 81
4.6 Displaying Images ....................................................................................... 83
4.7 Conclusion .................................................................................................... 85
References ............................................................................................... 85
4.1
Introduction
Image registration entails combining information from two or more images.
Once images are no longer viewed in isolation, new constraints and require-
ments arise. Appropriate data must be acquired; various properties of the
data that are not normally prominent have consequences for subsequent data
processing and the results that can be achieved. Once the data have been
acquired they will frequently have to be transferred from the scanning system
(MRI, CT, US, etc.) to a separate computer for subsequent processing. This
may include data format conversion, coordinate transformation, distortion
correction, intensity correction, and so on, in order to achieve consistent
input data for the registration process. Finally, it may be necessary to prepro-
cess the data in some way, for example by image segmentation, to provide the
registration algorithms with appropriate input information.
These preparation steps form an essential prerequisite to successful com-
parison or fusion of image data. The purpose of this chapter is to introduce
the necessary concepts and terminology and provide information that can
