Medical image registration

Problems related to file structures, transfer and networking plays an important role is in medical imaging in the early detection of cancers. Radiologists often have difficulty locating and accurately identifying cancer tissue, even with the aid of structural information such as CT and MRI because of the low contrast between the cancer and the surrounding tissues in CT and MRI images. Using SPECT and radioactively labeled monoclonal antibodies it is possible to obtain high contrast images of the concentration of antibodies in tumors. However, sometimes it is difficult to determine the precise location ofthe high concentration of the radioactive isotope in SPECT or PET images in relation to anatomic structures, such as vital organs and surrounding healthy tissue. Image registration is a visualization tool that can significantlyaid in the early detection oftumors and other diseases, and aid in improving the accuracy of diagnosis. The problems related to multimodality imaging can be separated into three groups; a) problems related to file structures, transfer and networking, b) registration, and c) visualization of the composite images. an image with normal uptake properties to an image with suspected abnormalities. In addition, image registration of SPECT and PET images and the registration of SPECT and PET images with anatomic atlases, provide an important means to evaluate comparative uptake properties of SPECT and PET radiopharmaceuticals, and to correlate uptake properties with anatomy. Medical image registration has been applied to the diagnosis of breast cancer, colon cancer, cardiac studies, wrist and other injuries, inflammatory diseases and different neurological disorders including brain tumors, Alzheimer's disease and schizophrenia. This method has also been utilized in radiotherapy, mostly for brain tumors, and by cranio-facial surgeons to prepare for and simulate complexsurgical procedures. One area where image registration Two basic types of medical images are made: functional body images (such as SPECT or PET scans), which provide physiological information, and structural images (such as CT or MRI), which provide an anatomic map of the body. Different medical imaging techniques may provide scans with complementary and occasionally conflicting information. The combination of images can often lead to additional clinical information not apparent in the separate images. The goal of image fusion is to impose a structural anatomic framework on functional images. Often in a functional image, there simply isn't enough anatomic detail to determine the position ofa tumor or other lesion. Although, the construction of a composite, overlapping medical image described in the field as medical image registration has been primarily used in the fusion offunctional and anatomical images, it has also been applied to a series of the same modality images. Examples of this are registration of SPECT images of the same subject in follow-up studies or in a comparison of Functional imaging using single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and positron emission tomography (PET) is extremely valuable in the diagnosis of various disorders. Uncertainty in the anatomic definition on SPECT and PET images, however, sometimes limits their usefulness. To overcome this problem, a combination ofmagnetic resonance images (MRI) and X-ray computed tomography (CT) images with functional SPECT or PET images of the same sections of the body, is used. This provides complementary anatomic (MRI or CT) and physiological (SPECT or PET) information that is of great importance to research, diagnosis, and treatment.