Segmentation of tumor vessels based on parallel double snakes including region information

In this paper, we address the problem of the segmentation of vessels in images of mouse tumors, with an efficient algorithm that minimizes the user's intervention. For each vessel, two points delimiting its extremities have to be selected. Then, a line inside the vessel is automatically determined based on a Dijkstra-type algorithm. Finally, an original active contour model combining both parallel double snakes and region criteria aims at finding the borders of the vessel. Our segmentation algorithm provides numerical models of tumor vessels, suitable for the simulation of blood and contrast agent flow.