Point-set registration of tagged HE-3 images using a structurally-based Jensen-Shannon divergence measure within a deterministic annealing framework

Helium-3 tagged magnetic resonance imaging has demonstrated potential for calculating pulmonary deformation from medical imagery. Such measurements are useful for determining the biomechanical properties of the lung. Unfortunately, the relative facility of visually tracking deformation via the high contrast tag lines has not transferred readily to the algorithmic domain of automatically establishing tag-line correspondences. We proffer a solution to this dilemma by translating the problem into a unique point-set registration scenario. Not only does this permit capitalizing on certain spectral aspects of tagged MRI but registration can be performed within a deterministic annealing framework for decreased susceptibility to local minima.