Analyzing the shape and motion of the lungs and heart in dynamic pulmonary imaging

The “Dynamic Chest Image Analysis” project aims to show focal and general abnormalities of lung ventilation and perfusion based on a sequence of digital chest fluoroscopy frames. An indispensable source of information recorded in the image sequence is the shapes and motions of the lungs and heart. This chapter employs this shape and motion information of lung and heart to detect abnormalities in both lung ventilation and perfusion. To extract the shape and motion information of lung and heart, we utilize a technique, called United Snakes, in which both the shape and motion of the lung and heart can be modeled using a single consistent theoretical and implementational framework. Along with case studies, we demonstrate the capability of United Snakes through four applications: lung registration, diaphragm motion analysis, cardiac motion analysis, and cardiac shape analysis, in revealing both lung ventilation and perfusion abnormalities.