用稀疏合成数据训练模型,通过双阶段搜索精准提取胎儿脑组织。
Search Wide, Focus Deep: Automated Fetal Brain Extraction with Sparse Training Data
- 先广搜定位脑区候选区域,再深搜细化提取边界。
- 在第二孕期和EPI扫描上比现有方法高5%的分割精度(Dice)。
- 适合缺乏标注数据的医学图像分析任务,尤其适用于胎儿脑研究。
由于胎头大小、方位不一,解剖结构复杂且普遍存在伪影,从全子宫MRI中自动提取胎儿脑组织极具挑战。尽管基于合成图像训练的深度学习模型在成人脑分割中表现良好,但因标注数据稀缺,直接用于胎儿MRI易产生大量假阳性。为此,我们提出一种测试时策略:采用广度-深度搜索(BFS)识别可能含胎儿脑的子体积,再通过深度聚焦滑窗(DFS)搜索精细提取,融合多模型预测以降低假阳性。模型在少量真实胎脑标签基础上,利用随机几何形状增强生成合成数据,覆盖不同头位与尺度,包含部分或无脑组织的情况。该框架在第三孕期临床HASTE扫描上达到当前最优性能,并在第二孕期及跨孕周的EPI扫描中提升高达5%的Dice分数。结果表明,滑窗机制结合多模型预测能逐步优化感兴趣区域,有效避免遗漏脑掩码切片或误将其他组织识别为脑组织。
原文摘要 · Abstract (English)
Automated fetal brain extraction from full-uterus MRI is a challenging task due to variable head sizes, orientations, complex anatomy, and prevalent artifacts. While deep-learning (DL) models trained on synthetic images have been successful in adult brain extraction, adapting these networks for fetal MRI is difficult due to the sparsity of labeled data, leading to increased false-positive predictions. To address this challenge, we propose a test-time strategy that reduces false positives in networks trained on sparse, synthetic labels. The approach uses a breadth-fine search (BFS) to identify a subvolume likely to contain the fetal brain, followed by a deep-focused sliding window (DFS) search to refine the extraction, pooling predictions to minimize false positives. We train models at different window sizes using synthetic images derived from a small number of fetal brain label maps, augmented with random geometric shapes. Each model is trained on diverse head positions and scales, including cases with partial or no brain tissue. Our framework matches state-of-the-art brain extraction methods on clinical HASTE scans of third-trimester fetuses and exceeds them by up to 5\% in terms of Dice in the second trimester as well as EPI scans across both trimesters. Our results demonstrate the utility of a sliding-window approach and combining predictions from several models trained on synthetic images, for improving brain-extraction accuracy by progressively refining regions of interest and minimizing the risk of missing brain mask slices or misidentifying other tissues as brain.
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