An improved balloon snake for HIFU image-guided system.

Target segmentation in ultrasound images is a key step in the definition of the intro-operative planning of high-intensity focused ultrasound therapy. This paper presents an improvement for the balloon snake in segmentation. A sign function, designed by the edge map and the moving snake, is added to give the direction of the balloon force on the moving snake separately. Segmentation results are demonstrated on ultrasound images and the effectiveness and convenience shown in applications.