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Abstract #2116

A Three-Dimensional Multi-Scale Line Filter Algorithm for Segmentation of Vein Vessels in Susceptibility Weighted Images

Guy U. Poloni1,2, Michael G. Dwyer1, Niels Bergsland1, Claudiu V. Schirda1, Stefano Bastianello2, Robert Zivadinov3,4

1Buffalo Neuroimaging Analysis Center, Buffalo, NY, United States; 2Neuroradiology Unit, Fondazione Istituto Neurologico Casimiro Mondino IRCCS, Pavia, Italy; 3Buffalo Neuroimaging Analysis Center, Buffalo , NY , United States; 4The Jacobs Neurological Institute, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, United States


SWI is a MRI application that can directly image cerebral veins through the use of phase information to enhance local susceptibility. The present work introduces an algorithm, based on a 3-dimensional linear filter, for segmenting and measuring vein vessels in the brain and for classifying vessels according to their diameter. The resultant multi-scale line-filtered images provide significantly improved segmentation and visualization of curvilinear structures, in particular with respect to small vessels, contributing to the quantitative investigation of vascular impairment in the pathologies of the central nervous system.