An Improved Path-Finding Method for the Tracking of Centerlines of Tortuous Internal Carotid Arteries in MR Angiography
Centerline tracking is useful in performing segmental analysis of vessel tortuosity in angiography data. However, a highly tortuous) artery can produce multiple centerlines due to over-segmentation of the artery, resulting in inaccurate path-finding results when using the shortest path-finding algor...
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2024-02-01
|
| Series: | Journal of Imaging |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2313-433X/10/3/58 |
| _version_ | 1797240463649931264 |
|---|---|
| author | Se-On Kim Yoon-Chul Kim |
| author_facet | Se-On Kim Yoon-Chul Kim |
| author_sort | Se-On Kim |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Centerline tracking is useful in performing segmental analysis of vessel tortuosity in angiography data. However, a highly tortuous) artery can produce multiple centerlines due to over-segmentation of the artery, resulting in inaccurate path-finding results when using the shortest path-finding algorithm. In this study, the internal carotid arteries (ICAs) from three-dimensional (3D) time-of-flight magnetic resonance angiography (TOF MRA) data were used to demonstrate the effectiveness of a new path-finding method. The method is based on a series of depth-first searches (DFSs) with randomly different orders of neighborhood searches and produces an appropriate path connecting the two endpoints in the ICAs. It was compared with three existing methods which were (a) DFS with a sequential order of neighborhood search, (b) Dijkstra algorithm, and (c) A* algorithm. The path-finding accuracy was evaluated by counting the number of successful paths. The method resulted in an accuracy of 95.8%, outperforming the three existing methods. In conclusion, the proposed method has been shown to be more suitable as a path-finding procedure than the existing methods, particularly in cases where there is more than one centerline resulting from over-segmentation of a highly tortuous artery. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T18:07:50Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-2ce556fd83fa49cf98d444d7c0018286 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2313-433X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T18:07:50Z |
| publishDate | 2024-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Imaging |
| spelling | doaj.art-2ce556fd83fa49cf98d444d7c00182862024-03-27T13:48:51ZengMDPI AGJournal of Imaging2313-433X2024-02-011035810.3390/jimaging10030058An Improved Path-Finding Method for the Tracking of Centerlines of Tortuous Internal Carotid Arteries in MR AngiographySe-On Kim0Yoon-Chul Kim1Division of Digital Healthcare, College of Software and Digital Healthcare Convergence, Yonsei University, Wonju 26493, Republic of KoreaDivision of Digital Healthcare, College of Software and Digital Healthcare Convergence, Yonsei University, Wonju 26493, Republic of KoreaCenterline tracking is useful in performing segmental analysis of vessel tortuosity in angiography data. However, a highly tortuous) artery can produce multiple centerlines due to over-segmentation of the artery, resulting in inaccurate path-finding results when using the shortest path-finding algorithm. In this study, the internal carotid arteries (ICAs) from three-dimensional (3D) time-of-flight magnetic resonance angiography (TOF MRA) data were used to demonstrate the effectiveness of a new path-finding method. The method is based on a series of depth-first searches (DFSs) with randomly different orders of neighborhood searches and produces an appropriate path connecting the two endpoints in the ICAs. It was compared with three existing methods which were (a) DFS with a sequential order of neighborhood search, (b) Dijkstra algorithm, and (c) A* algorithm. The path-finding accuracy was evaluated by counting the number of successful paths. The method resulted in an accuracy of 95.8%, outperforming the three existing methods. In conclusion, the proposed method has been shown to be more suitable as a path-finding procedure than the existing methods, particularly in cases where there is more than one centerline resulting from over-segmentation of a highly tortuous artery.https://www.mdpi.com/2313-433X/10/3/58cerebral arteriespath findingimage segmentationintracranial arteriesmagnetic resonance angiographyblood vessel |
| spellingShingle | Se-On Kim Yoon-Chul Kim An Improved Path-Finding Method for the Tracking of Centerlines of Tortuous Internal Carotid Arteries in MR Angiography Journal of Imaging cerebral arteries path finding image segmentation intracranial arteries magnetic resonance angiography blood vessel |
| title | An Improved Path-Finding Method for the Tracking of Centerlines of Tortuous Internal Carotid Arteries in MR Angiography |
| title_full | An Improved Path-Finding Method for the Tracking of Centerlines of Tortuous Internal Carotid Arteries in MR Angiography |
| title_fullStr | An Improved Path-Finding Method for the Tracking of Centerlines of Tortuous Internal Carotid Arteries in MR Angiography |
| title_full_unstemmed | An Improved Path-Finding Method for the Tracking of Centerlines of Tortuous Internal Carotid Arteries in MR Angiography |
| title_short | An Improved Path-Finding Method for the Tracking of Centerlines of Tortuous Internal Carotid Arteries in MR Angiography |
| title_sort | improved path finding method for the tracking of centerlines of tortuous internal carotid arteries in mr angiography |
| topic | cerebral arteries path finding image segmentation intracranial arteries magnetic resonance angiography blood vessel |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2313-433X/10/3/58 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT seonkim animprovedpathfindingmethodforthetrackingofcenterlinesoftortuousinternalcarotidarteriesinmrangiography AT yoonchulkim animprovedpathfindingmethodforthetrackingofcenterlinesoftortuousinternalcarotidarteriesinmrangiography AT seonkim improvedpathfindingmethodforthetrackingofcenterlinesoftortuousinternalcarotidarteriesinmrangiography AT yoonchulkim improvedpathfindingmethodforthetrackingofcenterlinesoftortuousinternalcarotidarteriesinmrangiography |