Evaluation of Deformable Image Registration

Deformable image registration (DIR) is a type of registration that calculates a deformable vector field (DVF) between two image data sets and permits contour and dose propagation. However the calculation of a DVF is considered an ill-posed problem, as there is no exact solution to a deformation problem, therefore all DVFs calculated contain errors. As a result it is important to evaluate and assess the accuracy and limitations of any DIR algorithm intended for clinical use. The influence of image quality on the DIR algorithms performance was also evaluated. The hybrid DIR algorithm in RayStation 4.0.1.4 was assessed using a number of evaluation methods and data. The evaluation methods were point of interest (POI) propagation, contour propagation and dose measurements. The data types used were phantom and patient data. A number of metrics were used for quantitative analysis and visual inspection was used for qualitative analysis. The quantitative and qualitative results indicated that all DVFs calculated by the DIR algorithm contained errors which translated into errors in the propagated contours and propagated dose. The results showed that the errors were largest for small contour volumes (<20cm3) and for large anatomical volume changes between the image sets, which pushes the algorithms ability to deform, a significant decrease in accuracy was observed for anatomical volume changes of greater than 10%. When the propagated contours in the head and