Analysis of 3-D myocardial motion in tagged MR images using nonrigid image registration.

Tagged magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is unique in its ability to noninvasively image the motion and deformation of the heart in vivo, but one of the fundamental reasons limiting its use in the clinical environment is the absence of automated tools to derive clinically useful information from tagged MR images. In this paper, we present a novel and fully automated technique based on nonrigid image registration using multilevel free-form deformations (MFFDs) for the analysis of myocardial motion using tagged MRI. The novel aspect of our technique is its integrated nature for tag localization and deformation field reconstruction using image registration and voxel based similarity measures.

Construction of a statistical model for cardiac motion analysis using nonrigid image registration.

In this paper we present a new technique for tracking the movement of the myocardium using a statistical model derived from the motion fields in the hearts of several healthy volunteers. To build the statistical model we tracked the motion of the myocardium in 17 volunteers using a nonrigid registration technique based on free-form deformations and mapped the motion fields obtained into a common reference coordinate system. A principal component analysis (PCA) was then performed on the motion fields to extract the major modes of variation in the fields between the successive time frames.