From Splines and Snakes to SNAKE SPLINES

Segmenting 3-D complex medical objects from sets of parallel slices may be a difficult task. We propose a new method of active contours (or snakes) that simplifies the classical approach of snakes by embedding the intrinsic energy in the spline nature of the surface to deform. This yields a simple differential equation, that controls the evolution of the surface toward its target. The simplification thus obtained allows for taking into account automatic modification of the topology of the object to segment, as is shown on the instance of a vertebra.