Patent ID: 6950542

Claim:
A method of computing the transformation which transforms two images ( 10 , 10 ′) of an object, preferably acquired by means of computed tomography or magnetic resonance tomography, one into the other, first the local transformation parameters being successively computed for sub-regions ( 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 ) of the images and subsequently the overall transformation being computed therefrom, the method of performing successive computation of the local transformation parameters for the sub-regions comprising: a) predetermining or computing the local transformation parameters for at least one first sub-region ( 1 ) by way of a rigid transformation, the at least one first sub-region including one of a coherent surface area and a coherent sub-volume; b) forming or selecting at least one sub-region ( 2 ) that has not yet been computed from among a quantity of other predetermined sub-regions ( 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 ), each of the other predetermined sub-regions including one of a coherent surface area and a coherent sub-volume; c) for each sub-region ( 2 ) in the step b), calculating the local transformation parameters by way of a rigid transformation, wherein the local transformation parameters of at least one neighboring sub-region ( 1 ) that has already been successfully treated are used as starting values in calculating the local transformation parameters for a respective sub-region ( 2 ) in step b); and d) repeating the steps b) and c) a number of times until the local transformation parameters have been computed for an adequate distribution of sub-regions across the images.