Medical image analysis

Order Description folder "Data.zip" contains 3D MRI data of three patients (P1, P2, P3) who suffer from renal artery stenosis (RAS). This disease causes a narrowing of the arteries feeding the kidney, which in the long term starves the kidneys of oxygen, leading to tissue damage, a reduced kidney function and ultimately also a reduction in kidney size. Patients can have RAS affecting both kidneys (bilateral) or just one of their kidneys (unilateral). Some patients can be treated by revascularisation therapy, which involves placing a stent in the narrowed artery in an attempt to open it up and restore blood flow to the kidneys. However, in some cases the damage to the kidney is irreversible and the treatment will not result in an improved function. When a kidney does respond to treatment an increase in kidney size is often apparent. If a kidney does not respond, the size may remain the same or decrease further. In these cases, patient 1 received a unilateral stent in the right renal artery, patient 2 received bilateral stents, and patient 3 received a unilateral stent in the left renal artery. The folder "Data.zip" contains images taken immediately before treatment, and a follow-up scan 4 months after treatment for each of the 3 patients. The images were acquired with a 3D MRI sequence with voxel size 1.5625 mm x 1.5625 mm x 2 mm (i.e. a slice thickness of 2 mm). Assignment 1. Search the literature to review methods that have been used to estimate volumes on 3D data, 2. Select, modify or design a method to estimate the volume of each of the kidneys before and after treatment 3. Use your measurements to determine which kidneys have responded to treatment, which have stayed the same, and which have continued to deteriorate. Response is measured here by kidney volume. 4. Determine the precision in the measurements your method produces through inter- and/or intra-observer analysis and use this information to support your conclusions. 5. Report your results in the form of a journal article with a maximum of 2500 words. The article should be structured in the usual format: