Diplomarbeit / Masterarbeit / Bachelor thesis (DA/MA/BA): Registration between ultrasound and fluoroscopy

[Subtitle]
Thesis by:
Advisor: Prof. Dr. Nassir Navab
Supervision by: Dr. Pascal Fallavollita
Due date:

Abstract

Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer among men in both Europe and North America. Brachytherapy is a definitive treatment of early stage prostate cancer. The procedure entails permanent implantation of small radioactive isotope capsules (a.k.a. seeds) into the prostate to kill the cancer with radiation. Prostate brachytherapy is performed with transrectal ultrasound (TRUS) guidance that provides adequate real-time visualization of the prostate but not of the implanted seeds. C-arm fluoroscopy is widely used for gross visual assessment of the implanted seeds but it cannot show the prostate and other relevant structures. Fusion of these complementary modalities would enable dynamic dosimetry.

Objectives: The aim of the project is to estimate the relative pose of C-arm images by the registration of the 2D fluoroscopy images to the 3D transrectal ultrasound volume, and by doing so we estimate the poses of C-arm images in a coordinate system fixed to the prostate. The objective is to recover the C-arm poses with an accuracy that is sufficient for subsequent reconstruction of the implanted seeds.

Requirements

• MATLAB and/or C++
• Interest in medical imaging and computer assisted surgery.
• Basic knowledge of registration and computer vision is recommendable.

What do we offer

• Experience different fields of research in computer science: Computer Vision, Visualization, Software Engineering.
• A possibility of solving a still-pending clinical problem.
• Your thesis and degree. (and also submission to prestigious conferences/journals depending on student performance)

Contact

If you are interested please contact Dr. Pascal Fallavollita