Region-growing segmentation of brain vessels: an atlas-based automatic approach.

Purpose: To propose an atlas-based method that uses both phase and magnitude images to integrate anatomical information in order to improve the segmentation of blood vessels in cerebral phase-contrast magnetic resonance angiography (PC-MRA).

Material And Methods: An atlas of the whole head was developed to store the anatomical information. The atlas divides a magnitude image into several vascular areas, each of which has specific vessel properties.