A phantom study of the accuracy of CT, MR and PET image registrations with a block matching-based algorithm Étude sur fantôme de la précision d’un algorithme de recalage par blocs pour des images TDM, IRM et TEP

Purpose. – The aim of the present study was to quantitatively assess the performance of a block matching-based automatic registration algorithm integrated within the commercial treatment planning system designated ISOgrayTM from Dosisoft. The accuracy of the process was evaluated by a phantom study on computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance (MR) and positron emission tomography (PET) images. Materials and methods. – Two phantoms were used to carry out this study: the cylindrical Jaszczak® phantom and the anthropomorphic LiquiPhilTM Head Phantom (the Phantom Laboratory), containing fillable spheres. External fiducial markers were used to quantify the accuracy of 41 CT/CT, MR/CT and PET/CT automatic registrations with images of the rotated and tilted phantoms. Results. – The study first showed that a cylindrical phantom was not adapted for the evaluation of the performance of a block matching-based registration software. Secondly, the Liqui-PhilTM Head Phantom study showed that the algorithm was able to perform automatic registrations of CT/CT and MR/CT images with differences of up to 40◦ in phantom rotation and of up to 20–30◦ for PET/CT with accuracy below the image voxel size. Conclusion. –The study showed that the block matching-based automatic registration software under investigation was robust, reliable and yielded very satisfactory results. This phantom-based test can be integrated into a periodical quality assurance process and used for any commissioning of image registration software for radiation therapy. © 2008 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.