Asymmetric multi-phase deformable model for colon segmentation

In virtual colonography, precise segmentation is essential for accurate diagnosis. For the segmentation of colon wall, we propose a novel multi-phase deformable model using a level set method. By defining an asymmetric energy functional, the proposed model can simultaneously segment regions with different characteristics. Compared with the conventional multi-phase models, it shows better convergence without ambiguity. Experimental results with real CT images demonstrate that the proposed algorithm outperforms other methods.