METHODS FOR AUTOMATIC SEGMENTATION AND TEMPORAL TRACKING

In one embodiment, a method of detecting centerline of a vessel is provided. The method comprises steps of acquiring a 3D image volume, initializing a centerline, initializing a Kalman filter, predicting a next center point using the Kalman filter, checking validity of the prediction made using the Kalman filter, performing template matching, updating the Kalman filter based on the template matching and repeating the steps of predicting, checking, performing, and updating for a predetermined number of times. Methods of automatic vessel segmentation and temporal tracking of the segmented vessel is further described with reference to the method of detecting centerline.