Lung Segmentation

 Lung Segmentation
First, for use of the 3D image-processing and analysis
technique, we used a trilinear interpolation technique to
make the size of the voxels equal to 1 mm in each of
three dimensions. We then separated lung regions from
other regions and background outside the body for each
of the CT sections by use of a thresholding technique. A
pixel with a CT value between 400 HU and 1000 HU
was considered to be located inside the lung region and
was thus assigned a value of 1; otherwise, the pixel was
assigned a value of 0. After the thresholding, the lung
regions, together with background (air) regions outside
the body, were separated from other regions inside the
body. In each section, we removed air regions outside the
body by discarding regions of value 1 that were attached
to image boundaries. The regions that survived this processing
were considered to be lung regions.
However, nodules connected to the pleura might have
been excluded from the lung regions since the CT values
for the pixels inside the nodule were outside the range of
400 HU to 1000 HU. To correct this type of segmentation
error, we first tracked the contour of the lung region,
shown as a solid curve in Figure 3. From a starting
contour point, we then scanned counterclockwise all
points on the entire contour one by one. For each current
contour point “A,” we then scanned clockwise all contour
points between the starting point and point “A” until we
found a point “B” that satisfied the following conditions:
(1) the distance between points “A” and “B” is less than
30 mm, (2) all the pixels on a straight line “AB” connecting
points “A” and “B,” shown as a dotted line in Figure 3,
have a value of 0 in the lung-segmented image, and (3)
the maximum distance between the straight line “AB” and
all the contour points between points “A” and “B” on the
contour is larger than two thirds of the distance between
points “A” and “B.” When such a point “B” was found,
we assumed that we had found a juxtapleural object and
we replaced all the contour points between points “A”
and “B” by the dotted straight line “AB.” By doing so,
we included a juxtapleural object inside the lung region.
If such a point “B” could not be found, we simply proceeded
to the next contour point of “A” and considered it
as the new current point. From the new current point, we
repeated the above procedure until all contour points were
checked.