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Three-Dimensional Segmentation of the Tumor in Computed Tomographic Images of Neuroblastoma

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Segmentation of the tumor in neuroblastoma is complicated by the fact that the mass is almost always heterogeneous in nature; furthermore, viable tumor, necrosis, and normal tissue are often intermixed. Tumor definition and diagnosis require the analysis of the spatial distribution and Hounsfield unit (HU) values of voxels in computed tomography (CT) images, coupled with a knowledge of normal anatomy. Segmentation and analysis of the tissue composition of the tumor can assist in quantitative assessment of the response to therapy and in the planning of delayed surgery for resection of the tumor. We propose methods to achieve 3-dimensional segmentation of the neuroblastic tumor. In our scheme, some of the normal structures expected in abdominal CT images are delineated and removed from further consideration; the remaining parts of the image volume are then examined for the tumor mass. Mathematical morphology, fuzzy connectivity, and other image processing tools are deployed for this purpose. Expert knowledge provided by a radiologist in the form of the expected structures and their shapes, HU values, and radiological characteristics are incorporated into the segmentation algorithm. In this preliminary study, the methods were tested with 10 CT exams of four cases from the Alberta Children's Hospital. False-negative error rates of less than 12% were obtained in eight of the 10 exams; however, seven of the exams had false-positive error rates of more than 20% with respect to manual segmentation of the tumor by a radiologist.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by grants from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, and the Kids Cancer Care Foundation of Alberta.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Schulich School of Engineering, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive N.W., Calgary, T2N 1N4, Alberta, Canada

    Hanford J. Deglint, Rangaraj M. Rangayyan & Fábio J. Ayres

  2. Department of Radiology, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive N.W., Calgary, T2N 1N4, Alberta, Canada

    Rangaraj M. Rangayyan

  3. Alberta Children’s Hospital, 1820 Richmond Road S.W., Calgary, T2T 5C7, Alberta, Canada

    Graham S. Boag

  4. Laboratório de Sistemas Integráveis, Departamento de Engenharia de Sistemas Eletrônicos, Escola Politécnica da Universidade de São Paulo, Av. Prof. Luciano Gualberto, 158, Trav. 3 São Paulo, São Paulo, 05508-900, Brazil

    Rangaraj M. Rangayyan & Marcelo K. Zuffo

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Correspondence to Rangaraj M. Rangayyan.

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Deglint, H.J., Rangayyan, R.M., Ayres, F.J. et al. Three-Dimensional Segmentation of the Tumor in Computed Tomographic Images of Neuroblastoma. J Digit Imaging 20, 72–87 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/10278-006-0769-3

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