Computed tomography to fluoroscopy registration using segmented inputs

1. A method, comprising:

receiving a computed tomography (CT) image of a patient;

segmenting a first set of anatomical elements from the CT image;

receiving a plurality of fluoroscopy images of the patient;

segmenting a second set of anatomical elements from the plurality of fluoroscopy images, the segmenting comprising determining that a first anatomical element overlaps a second anatomical element by at least detecting a gradient line within a boundary of the second anatomical element in at least one of the plurality of fluoroscopy images; and

creating a registration between the CT image and the plurality of fluoroscopy images based on the segmented first set of anatomical elements and the segmented second set of anatomical elements.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first anatomical element is a vertebra and the second anatomical element is a rib.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising subtracting pixels corresponding to the first anatomical element from at least one of the plurality of fluoroscopy images.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the subtracting is based on information about an expected shape of at least one of the first anatomical element and the second anatomical element.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein creating the registration comprises matching at least one first gradient corresponding to at least one anatomical element of the first set of anatomical elements with at least one second gradient corresponding to at least one anatomical element of the second set of anatomical elements.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising removing one or more gradient lines from at least one of the plurality of fluoroscopy images.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first set of anatomical elements comprises at least one of a patella and a soft tissue anatomical element.

8. A system, comprising:

a processor; and

a memory storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to:

receive a three-dimensional (3D) image of a patient's anatomy;

segment a first set of anatomical elements from the 3D image;

cause an imaging device to capture one or more two-dimensional (2D) images of the patient's anatomy;

segment a second set of anatomical elements from the one or more 2D images, the segmenting of the second set of anatomical elements comprising defining a boundary of at least one anatomical tissue, wherein the boundary defines an area indicating an overlap between the at least one anatomical tissue and an anatomical object of the segmented second set of anatomical elements;

clean the one or more 2D images by removing at least one gradient line from each 2D image of the one or more 2D images; and

register the one or more cleaned 2D images to the 3D image based on the segmented first set of anatomical elements and the segmented second set of anatomical elements.

9. The system of claim 8 , wherein the at least one anatomical tissue comprises a patella or a soft tissue anatomical elements.

10. The system of claim 8 , wherein the segmenting of the second set of anatomical elements is based on information about an expected shape of at least one of the at least one anatomical tissue and the anatomical object.

11. The system of claim 8 , wherein the at least one gradient line is located in the anatomical object of the segmented second set of anatomical elements.

12. The system of claim 8 , further comprising subtracting pixels corresponding to the at least one anatomical tissue from the segmented second set of anatomical elements.

13. The system of claim 8 , wherein the segmenting of the second set of anatomical elements further comprises identifying one or more gradient lines associated with each of the first set of anatomical elements.

14. The system of claim 8 , wherein the 3D image and the one or more 2D images omit using fiducials.

15. A system, comprising:

a processor;

an imaging device; and

a memory storing instructions thereon that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to:

receive a three-dimensional (3D) image;

cause the imaging device to capture one or more two-dimensional (2D) images;

segment a first set of anatomical elements from the 3D image;

segment a second set of anatomical elements from each of the one or more 2D images, the segmenting including defining a boundary of a first anatomical object, wherein the boundary defines an area indicating an overlap between the first anatomical object and a second anatomical object of the segmented second set of anatomical elements;

remove the first anatomical object from at least one of the one or more 2D images to yield one or more cleaned 2D images; and

register the one or more cleaned 2D images to the 3D image based on the segmented first set of anatomical elements and the segmented second set of anatomical elements.

16. The system of claim 15 , wherein the removing the first anatomical object further comprises subtracting pixels corresponding to the first anatomical object from the at least one of the one or more 2D images.

17. The system of claim 16 , wherein the subtracting is based on information about an expected shape of at least one of the first anatomical object and the second anatomical object.

18. The system of claim 15 , wherein the 3D image is a CT scan, an MRI scan, or an ultrasound.

19. The system of claim 15 , wherein the one or more 2D images is a fluoroscopy image, an MRI image, or an ultrasound image.

20. The system of claim 15 , wherein the first anatomical element comprises a rib.

21. The system of claim 15 , wherein the 3D image and the one or more 2D images omit using fiducials.

22. The system of claim 15 , wherein the registering comprises matching at least one first gradient corresponding to at least one anatomical element of the first set of anatomical elements with at least one second gradient corresponding to at least one anatomical element of the second set of anatomical elements.