[Insight-users] itk + vtk segmentation questions

[Jacob Boomgaarden]

Hi all,

I am working with a project to reconstruct a 3D model of the human lung
from the Visible Human Project dataset and had a few questions regarding
some segmentation usages. The application I will be making incorporates
both ITK and VTK capabilities and, as of now, I am working with CT images
while looking at using one or both of itkConfidenceConnectedImageFilter or
itkFastMarchingImageFilter segmentation methods.

Here are some questions I have come up against:

1)  When using either of the above segmentation methods, how do I go about
first creating a 3-dimensional itk::Image out of the 2D CT scans to then
segment? I realize that the algorithms allow for 3D segmentation and I
would assume that this would be more efficient to use than by segmenting
each individual 2D image first and then creating a 3D image out of those.
The examples that I have run across in the ITK SoftwareGuide seem to only
show how to do the segmentation on a 2D image. Are there any examples
using segmentation on 3D images?

2)  Allow I haven't looked too hard within VTK's capabilities, I am just
curious as to whether (and then how) VTK is able to view the bitmap images
of the CT scans from the Visible Humag Project dataset?

3)  While running the example
Examples/Segmentation/ConfidenceConnected.cxx I ran into a peculiar
problem. The first time I ran the executable it worked just fine and
segmented the suggested BrainProtonDensitySlice.png image. But when I
tried running it again at a later point, it wouldn't finish properly and
displayed the following error message:

Error: Segmentation Fault (core dumped)

Why would this not work the second (and numerous tries afterwards) time
correctly?

Thanks for all your help and suggestions!


-- 
Jacob Boomgaarden
ARSC Intern
West Ridge Research Building, Room 011
Phone:  (907)-455-3350
Office: (907)-450-8701
Email: boomgaar at arsc.edu