Patent ID: 9600895
Date: 2017-03-21
CPC Classifications: G06T

Claim:
1. A method for segmenting a nerve in a three-dimensional image volume obtained with a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system, the steps of the method comprising: a) providing a three-dimensional image volume that depicts a nerve and surrounding anatomical structures in a series of contiguous image slices obtained with an MRI system; b) selecting at least one control point in the image volume, wherein the at least one control point is an initial estimate of a point lying on an axis of the nerve; c) generating an axis that extends from the at least one control point along a longitudinal direction through the nerve, thereby defining the axis of the nerve; d) forming at least two cross sections, each cross section defining a cross-sectional area of the nerve in a plane perpendicular to the generated axis of the nerve; and e) generating additional cross sections between the at least two cross sections formed in step d), thereby forming a volume that defines the nerve segmented from the surrounding anatomical structures.