Integrated image registration for cardiac magnetic resonance perfusion data

1. A method for integrated image registration of cardiac magnetic resonance perfusion data that integrates a first channel of information indicative of pixel intensities with a second channel of information indicative of local gradients, the method comprising:

providing a contoured region of interest on a first image having a plurality of pixels;

receiving a second image corresponding to a time other than that of said first image;

calculating pixel intensities for the second image from the first channel of information;

estimating edge parameters for at least one of said first and second images from the second channel of information;

calculating a template-match between said first and second images;

selecting a pair of pixel locations from at least one of said first and second images in accordance with said template-match;

registering the estimated edge parameters in correspondence with said calculated template-match for a pair of pixel values at said selected locations in said first image and a pair of pixel values at said selected locations in said second image, wherein said registering comprises applying an entropy framework to the first and second images;

compensating for drifts due to sub-pixel shifts by incorporating the second channel of information in association with the applied entropy framework; and

detecting a changed pixel location in accordance with said registering and said compensating.

2. A method as defined in claim 1 wherein said second image is temporally consecutive with said first image.

3. A method as defined in claim 1 , further comprising maintaining said first image as a reference for calculating a plurality of template-matches corresponding to a plurality of second images.

4. A method as defined in claim 1 wherein said detecting a changed pixel location is not compromised by a change in contrast.

5. A method as defined in claim 1 wherein the second channel of information is incorporated periodically at a rate less than a frame rate.

6. A system for integrated image registration of cardiac magnetic resonance perfusion data that integrates a first channel of information indicative of pixel intensities with a second channel of information indicative of local gradients, the system comprising:

an estimation unit for estimating contour region means for providing a contoured region of interest on a first image having a plurality of pixels;

second image means for receiving a second image corresponding to a time other than that of said first image;

pixel intensity means for calculating pixel intensities for the second image from the first channel of information;

an edge parameter for at least one of said from the second first and second images channel of information;

a registration unit in signal communication with the estimation unit for registering the edge parameter in correspondence with a template-match from the first channel of information between pixels in a first input image and pixels in a second input image and compensating for drifts due to sub-pixel shifts by incorporating the second channel of information in association with an entropy framework; and

a CPU in signal communication with said estimation unit and said registration unit for detecting a changed pixel location in accordance with said registration unit when the entropy of said second image is increased.

7. A system as defined in claim 6 wherein at least one of said first and second input images comprises cardiac magnetic resonance image.

8. A system as defined in claim 6 , further comprising:

a display adapter in signal communication with the CPU for displaying at least one of said edge parameter and said first and second input images; and

an I/O adapter in signal communication with the CPU for recalling the locations of the pixels from the displayed image to provide an indication of the location of a changed pixel location within an input image.

9. A system as defined in claim 6 , further comprising:

a user interface adapter in signal communication with the CPU for at least receiving a region of interest contour selection for one of a sequence of images from a user.

10. A system as defined in claim 6 , further comprising:

a magnetic resonance imaging device in signal communication with said CPU for at least providing a sequence of magnetic resonance perfusion images of a patient.

11. A system as defined in claim 6 wherein the second channel of information is incorporated periodically at a rate less than a frame rate.

12. A system for integrated image registration of cardiac magnetic resonance perfusion data that integrates a first channel of information indicative of pixel intensities with a second channel of information indicative of local gradients, the system comprising:

providing means for providing a contoured region of interest on a first image having a plurality of pixels;

receiving means for receiving a second image corresponding to a time other than that of said first image;

calculating means for calculating a template-match between said first and second images from the first channel of information;

selecting means for selecting a pair of pixel locations from at least one of said first and second images in accordance with said template-match;

estimating means for estimating edge parameters for at least one of said first and second images from the second channel of information;

registering means for registering the estimated edge parameters in correspondence with said calculated template-match for a pair of pixel values at said selected locations in said first image and a pair of pixel values at said selected, wherein said registering means comprises applying means for applying an entropy framework to the first and second images;

compensating means for compensating drifts due to sub-pixel shifts by incorporating the second channel of information in association with the applied entropy framework; and

detecting means for detecting a changed pixel location in accordance with said registering and said compensating.

13. A system as defined in claim 12 wherein said second image is temporally consecutive with said first image.

14. A system as defined in claim 12 , further comprising maintaining means for maintaining said first image as a reference for calculating a plurality of template-matches corresponding to a plurality of second images.

15. A system as defined in claim 12 wherein said detecting means for detecting a changed pixel location is not compromised by a change in contrast.

16. A system as defined in claim 12 wherein the second channel of information is incorporated periodically at a rate less than a frame rate.

17. A program storage device readable by machine, tangibly embodying computer readable medium a program of instructions executable by the machine to perform method steps for integrated image registration of cardiac magnetic resonance perfusion data that integrates a first channel of information indicative of pixel intensities with a second channel of information indicative of local gradients, the method steps comprising:

providing a contoured region of interest on a first image having a plurality of pixels;

receiving a second image corresponding to a time other than that of said first image;

calculating a template-match between said first and second images from the first channel of information;

selecting a pair of pixel locations from at least one of said first and second images in accordance with said template-match;

estimating edge parameters for at least one of said first and second images from the second channel of information;

registering the estimated edge parameters in correspondence with said calculated template-match for a pair of pixel values at said selected locations in said first image and a pair of pixel values at said selected, wherein said registering comprises applying an entropy framework to the first and second images;

compensating for drifts due to sub-pixel shifts by incorporating the second channel of information in association with the applied entropy framework; and

detecting a changed pixel location in accordance with said registering and said compensating.

18. A program storage device as defined in claim 17 wherein said second image is temporally consecutive with said first image.

19. A program storage device as defined in claim 17 , the method steps further comprising maintaining said first image as a reference for calculating a plurality of template-matches corresponding to a plurality of second images.

20. A program storage device as defined in claim 17 wherein said detecting a changed pixel location is not compromised by a change in contrast.

21. A program storage device as defined in claim 17 wherein the second channel of information is incorporated periodically at a rate less than a frame rate.