MEDICAL IMAGING: EXISTING IMAGING SYSTEMS AND STATE-OF-THE-ART IMAGE ANALYSIS METHODS

Imaging of the internal structures of the human body and extraction of quantitative information from medical images are important for diagnosis and treatment evaluation applications. In this paper, first we introduce most important, currently available medical imaging modalities. Then, we present samples of the ongoing research projects focused on computerized processing and quantitative evaluations of medical images. To this end, we describe segmentation of different tissues and structures, extraction and evaluation of fiber bundles in the brain, estimation of chemical contents of abnormal tissues, and fusion of the tissue parameters extracted from different images. Recent results of the research projects indicate that medical imaging modalities and their integrated analysis provide significant assistance to the physicians for their diagnosis and treatment evaluations. It is expected that the ongoing research projects play crucial roles in improving existing imaging systems, developing new imaging modalities, and extracting quantitative information from the images for the ultimate goal of reducing the need for invasive methods and improving accuracy of noninvasive methods for healthcare.