A discrete curvature-based deformable surface model with application to segmentation of volumetric images.

In this paper, we present a new curvature-based three-dimensional (3-D) deformable surface model. The model deforms under defined force terms. Internal forces are calculated from local model curvature, using a robust method by a least-squares error (LSE) approximation to the Dupin indicatrix. External forces are calculated by applying a step expansion and restoration filter (SEF) to the image data. A solution for one of the most common problems associated with deformable models, self-cutting, has been proposed in this work. We use a principal axis analysis and reslicing of the deformable model, followed by triangulation of the slices, to remedy self-cutting. We use vertex resampling, multiresolution deformation, and refinement of the mesh grid to improve the quality of the model deformation, which leads to better results. Examples of the model application to different cases (simulation, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computerized tomography (CT), and ultrasound images) are presented, showing diversity and flexibility of the model.