Nonlinear elastic registration of brain images with tumor pathology using a biomechanical model [MRI]

A biomechanical model of the brain is presented, using a finite-element formulation. Emphasis is given to the modeling of the soft-tissue deformations induced by the growth of tumors and its application to the registration of anatomical atlases, with images from patients presenting such pathologies. First, an estimate of the anatomy prior to the tumor growth is obtained through a simulated biomechanical contraction of the tumor region. Then a normal-to-normal atlas registration to this estimated pre-tumor anatomy is applied. Finally, the deformation from the tumor-growth model is applied to the resultant registered atlas, producing an atlas that has been deformed to fully register to the patient images. The process of tumor growth is simulated in a nonlinear optimization framework, which is driven by anatomical features such as boundaries of brain structures. The deformation of the surrounding tissue is estimated using a nonlinear elastic model of soft tissue under the boundary conditions imposed by the skull, ventricles, and the falx and tentorium. A preliminary two-dimensional (2-D) implementation is presented in this paper, and tested on both simulated and patient data. One of the long-term goals of this work is to use anatomical brain atlases to estimate the locations of important brain structures in the brain and to use these estimates in pre-surgical and radiosurgical planning systems.

[1]  R L Stalnaker,et al.  A constitutive relationship for large deformation finite element modeling of brain tissue. , 1995, Journal of biomechanical engineering.

[2]  D. Marquardt An Algorithm for Least-Squares Estimation of Nonlinear Parameters , 1963 .

[3]  Jerry L Prince,et al.  A computerized approach for morphological analysis of the corpus callosum. , 1996, Journal of computer assisted tomography.

[4]  S. Rapoport,et al.  A two-dimensional, finite element analysis of vasogenic brain edema. , 1990, Neurologia medico-chirurgica.

[5]  Jason Trobaugh,et al.  The correction of stereotactic inaccuracy caused by brain shift using an intraoperative ultrasound device , 1997, CVRMed.

[6]  N. Tamaki,et al.  Biomechanics of hydrocephalus: a new theoretical model. , 1987, Neurosurgery.

[7]  F A Bandak,et al.  An imaging-based computational and experimental study of skull fracture: finite element model development. , 1995, Journal of neurotrauma.

[8]  J. Mazziotta,et al.  MRI‐PET Registration with Automated Algorithm , 1993, Journal of computer assisted tomography.

[9]  J. Miller,et al.  Analysis of intracerebral hematoma shapes by numerical computer simulation using the finite element method. , 1994, Neurologia medico-chirurgica.

[10]  Christos Davatzikos,et al.  Spatial Transformation and Registration of Brain Images Using Elastically Deformable Models , 1997, Comput. Vis. Image Underst..

[11]  Dimitris N. Metaxas,et al.  A 3D virtual environment for modeling mechanical cardiopulmonary interactions , 1997, CVRMed.

[12]  Morten Bro-Nielsen,et al.  Surgery Simulation Using fast Finite Elements , 1996, VBC.

[13]  Jay D. Humphrey,et al.  Inverse Finite Element Characterization of Nonlinear Hyperelastic Membranes , 1997 .

[14]  Satya N. Atluri,et al.  Brain Tissue Fragility–A Finite Strain Analysis by a Hybrid Finite-Element Method , 1975 .

[15]  C. Davatzikos Spatial normalization of 3D brain images using deformable models. , 1996, Journal of computer assisted tomography.

[16]  A K Ommaya,et al.  A comparison of the elasticity of live, dead, and fixed brain tissue. , 1970, Journal of biomechanics.

[17]  Jerry L. Prince,et al.  An active contour model for mapping the cortex , 1995, IEEE Trans. Medical Imaging.

[18]  Russell H. Taylor,et al.  A path-planning algorithm for image-guided neurosurgery , 1997, CVRMed.

[19]  S. Hakim,et al.  Biomechanics of hydrocephalus. , 1971, Acta neurologica latinoamericana.

[20]  M. Gurtin,et al.  An introduction to continuum mechanics , 1981 .

[21]  J D Humphrey,et al.  Mechanics of the arterial wall: review and directions. , 1995, Critical reviews in biomedical engineering.

[22]  Nicholas Ayache,et al.  Application of an Automatically Built 3D Morphometric Brain Atlas: Study of Cerebral Ventricle Shape , 1996, VBC.

[24]  J. Humphrey,et al.  Finite element analysis of nonlinear orthotropic hyperelastic membranes , 1996 .

[25]  Haiying Liu,et al.  Investigation of intraoperative brain deformation using a 1.5-T interventional MR system: preliminary results , 1998, IEEE Transactions on Medical Imaging.

[26]  Timothy F. Cootes,et al.  Combining point distribution models with shape models based on finite element analysis , 1994, Image Vis. Comput..

[27]  R. Wasserman,et al.  A patient-specific in vivo tumor model. , 1996, Mathematical biosciences.

[28]  M I Miller,et al.  Mathematical textbook of deformable neuroanatomies. , 1993, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[29]  Y Tada,et al.  Formation and resolution of brain edema associated with brain tumors. A comprehensive theoretical model and clinical analysis. , 1994, Acta neurochirurgica. Supplementum.

[30]  K Masaoka,et al.  The finite element analysis of brain oedema associated with intracranial meningiomas. , 1990, Acta neurochirurgica. Supplementum.

[31]  K. Paulsen,et al.  A computational model for tracking subsurface tissue deformation during stereotactic neurosurgery , 1999, IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering.