Segmentation of anatomic structures using navigation table

1. A method of automatic segmentation of an anatomic structure in medical images for a region of interest in a subject, comprising the steps of:

receiving a set of images representative of the region of interest;

constructing a navigation table using a processor relating the set of images to a reference system, the reference system including reference positions indicating known anatomic landmarks of a reference subject;

selecting one or more images including the anatomic structure by looking up the navigation table; and

performing a segmentation procedure for the selected images.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of defining a range of images for performing the segmentation procedure by looking up the navigation table.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the segmentation procedure comprises the step of iterating images in an incremented or a decremented order of the reference positions of the range of the images.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the medical images are X-ray computed tomography (CT) images.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the region of interest is the pelvis region of a patient.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the region of interest is the thorax region of a patient.

7. A computer program product embodied in a computer readable non-transitory medium for automatic segmentation of an anatomic structure in medical images for a region of interest, comprising:

code for receiving a set of images representative of the region of interest;

code for constructing a navigation table relating the set of images to a reference system, the reference system including reference positions indicating known anatomic landmarks of a reference subject;

code for selecting one or more images including the anatomic structure by looking up the navigation table; and

code for performing a segmentation procedure for the selected images.