Multi-mode Narrow-band Thresholding with Application in Liver Segmentation from Low-contrast CT Images

Abstract

Segmentation of liver in CT images is regarded as a challenge in image processing due to low-contrast of datasets, variety of liver shape, and its non-uniform texture; especially for abnormal cases. In this paper, we deal with normal and abnormal datasets as images containing two or more Gaussian components. We threshold a slice in a narrow band of each mode, find liver pixels based on a priori knowledge, prepare a probability map, and threshold the map to find initial liver border. Final boundary of liver is obtained through a few iterations of `Geodesic Active Contour'. The proposed method was tested on 30 normal and 17 abnormal datasets each containing 159-263 slices; acquired from different CT machines. The results for normal and abnormal datasets are completely acceptable, according to the evaluation done by a specialist. However, for severely abnormal datasets, the proposed method is regarded as a promising algorithm for liver segmentation.