CHAPTER 5
Four-Dimensionality, Multimodality, and Fusion of Medical Imaging
5.1 BASICS OF 4-D, MULTIMODALITY, AND FUSION OF MEDICAL IMAGING
In Chapter 2 we introduced the concept of multidimensional medical images from 2-D, 3-D, to 4-D. Figure 5.1A revisits two types of 3-D image with z and t as the third dimension, respectively. The details of 3-D imaging were discussed in Chapter 4. This chapter presents 4-D imaging, which can take on several forms. One possible extension from 3-D imaging to 4-D imaging would be adding the fourth dimension of time t to the 3-D (x, y, z) spatial imaging shown in Figure 5.1B. Another form of 4-D imaging is the fusion of two modality anatomical structures, or one anatomical and one physiological modality 3-D image sets depicted in Figure 5.1C. Section 5.1 presents the basics of 4-D imaging, including its formation, multimodality image registration, fusion, and display. Section 5.2 discusses specific 4-D imaging for diagnostic and therapy purposes in daily clinical operation. Section 5.3 introduces multimodality imaging and methods of image registration. Section 5.4 considers the relationship between multimodality image registration with image fusion and display, and some applications. The many examples given in Sections 5.2, 5.3, and 5.4 demonstrate applications of the concepts described in Section 5.1.
5.1.1 From 3-D to 4-D Imaging
Consider a CT contrast study of the heart of a patient, Figure 5.1B, left, shows a 3-D CT image set, 1 to n1, of ...
