Motion-aware Needle Segmentation in Ultrasound Images

Segmenting a moving needle in ultrasound images is challenging due to the presence of artifacts, noise, and needle occlusion. This task becomes even more demanding in scenarios where data availability is limited. Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) have been successful in many computer vision applications, but struggle to accurately segment needles without considering their motion. In this paper, we present a novel approach for needle segmentation that combines classical Kalman Filter (KF) techniques with data-driven learning, incorporating both needle features and needle motion. Our method offers two key contributions. First, we propose a compatible framework that seamlessly integrates into commonly used encoder-decoder style architectures. Second, we demonstrate superior performance compared to recent state-of-the-art needle segmentation models using our novel convolutional neural network (CNN) based KF-inspired block, achieving a 15\% reduction in pixel-wise needle tip error and an 8\% reduction in length error. Third, to our knowledge we are the first to implement a learnable filter to incorporate non-linear needle motion for improving needle segmentation.