Implicit function-based phantoms for evaluation of registration algorithms

Medical image fusion is increasingly enhancing diagnostic accuracy by synergizing information from multiple images, obtained by the same modality at different times or from complementary modalities such as structural information from CT and functional from PET. An active, crucial research topic in fusion is validation of the registration (point-to-point correspondence) used. Phantoms and other simulated studies are useful in the absence of, or as a preliminary to, definitive clinical tests. Software phantoms in specific have the added advantage of robustness, repeatability and reproducibility. Our virtual-lung-phantom-based scheme can test the accuracy of any registration algorithm and is flexible enough for added levels of complexity (addition of blur/anti-alias, rotate/warp, and modality-associated noise) to help evaluate the robustness of an image registration/fusion methodology. Such a framework extends easily to different anatomies. The feature of adding software-based fiducials both within and outside simulated anatomies prove more beneficial when compared to experiments using data from external fiducials on a patient. It would help the diagnosing clinician make a prudent choice of registration algorithm.