Accurate vessel segmentation in ultrasound images using a local-phase-based snake

Accurate vessel segmentation in ultrasound images is difficult to realize given the poor image quality of such images. In this study, a local-phase-based snake is proposed to improve the accuracy of vessel segmentation in ultrasound images. In the proposed snake framework, image energy is generated using the local phase of the ultrasound image. By using the intensity-invariant local phase, we can obtain identical image energies on all edges regardless of the strengths of their intensity contrasts. In addition, by minimizing the identical local-phase-based image energy, the snake can be pulled uniformly toward the strong and weak edges, and accurate vessel segmentation in ultrasound images can be achieved. The performance of the proposed segmentation method is evaluated using three types of vessels. We then compare it with the performances of the gradient-based standard snake and snake that uses the balloon model. The evaluation results show that the proposed local-phase-based snake accurately segments vessels from ultrasound images and performs better than the known methods.