Sophisticated IGRT (Image Guided Radiotherapy) techniques require us to deform CT, MR and US images to match previous images of the same patient or to match an atlas in order to transfer atlas-embedded information back to a specific patient's images. Although no one has solved this complex issue in the general case, specific solutions enable us to treat some tumors more effectively than ever before.
M-reps provide a framework for automatically building 3D hexahedral meshes to compute physically correct mechanical deformations via the Finite Element Method (FEM). This approach is being used in clinical studies involving CT and MR images for brachytherapy dosimetry by collaborators at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.
Goal: to reduce user variability that can affect clinical decisions by statistically training shape models representing internal organs for better targeting.
