Morphological registration of 3D medical images

Registration of three-dimensional medical image modalities (PET and MRI) of the human brain is performed by a multi-scale morphological shape description combined with 3D Chamfer matching. Objects of Interest are first segmented. For MR images of the head, a Directional Watershed algorithm is used to obtain an accurate segmentation of the brain. PET images are segmented by thresholding combined with region growing. The shape description is then performed by generalized morphological skeletons, introduced in this article, providing a multi-scale representation of the object shape. Registration is finally operated by Chamfer matching, using a rigid transform for PET-MRI registration. Non-rigid registration is also evoked