Segmentation of lumbar vertebrae from clinical CT using active shape models and GVF-snake

Lumbar area of the vertebral column bears the most load of the human body and thus it is responsible for the major portion of lower back pain from which 80% to 90% of people suffer from during their lifetime. Vertebra related diseases are mainly fracture and are usually diagnosed from X-ray radiographs or CT scans depending on the severity of the problem. In this paper, we propose a fully automated lumbar vertebra segmentation that accurately and robustly produces a smooth contour around each of the vertebrae. This segmentation is very useful in any subsequent CAD system for diagnosis and quantification of vertebrae fractures. It also serves the radiologist during the clinical routine. Our method shows an excellent level of vertebra boundary smootheness that was visually approved by our collaborating radiologist for each vertebra and each case from our fifty cases dataset that includes both normal and abnormal cases.