Genetic algorithms for a robust 3-D MR-CT registration.

The aim of this paper is to present an original usage of genetic algorithms as a robust search space sampler in application to 3-D medical image elastic registration. An overview of the standard steps of a registration algorithm is given. We focus on the genetic algorithms use and particularly on the problem of extraction of the optimal solution among the final genetic population. We provide an original encoding scheme relying on a structural approach of point matching and then point out the need for a local optimization process. We then illustrate the algorithm with a concrete registration example and assert the results with a direct multivolume rendering tool. Finally, the algorithm is applied on the vanderbilt medical image database to assert the robustness and in order to compare it with other techniques.