A Demons Algorithm for Image Registration with Locally Adaptive Regularization

Thirion's Demons is a popular algorithm for nonrigid image registration because of its linear computational complexity and ease of implementation. It approximately solves the diffusion registration problem by successively estimating force vectors that drive the deformation toward alignment and smoothing the force vectors by Gaussian convolution. In this article, we show how the Demons algorithm can be generalized to allow image-driven locally adaptive regularization in a manner that preserves both the linear complexity and ease of implementation of the original Demons algorithm. We show that the proposed algorithm exhibits lower target registration error and requires less computational effort than the original Demons algorithm on the registration of serial chest CT scans of patients with lung nodules.