Method and System For Lymph Node Segmentation In Computed Tomography Images

An apparatus for segmenting a lymph node in a CT image based on an input lymph node location in a CT image slice of said CT image, comprising:

• means for determining intensity constraints based on a histogram of the CT image slice;
• means for estimating an initial contour at said lymph node location in said CT image slice;
• and
• means for propagating said initial contour using an evolving elliptical model to define a boundary of said lymph node.

A computer readable medium encoded with computer executable instructions for segmenting a lymph node in a CT image based on an input lymph node location in a CT image slice of said CT image, the computer executable instructions defining steps comprising:

• determining intensity constraints based on a histogram of the CT image slice;
• estimating an initial contour at said lymph node location in said CT image slice;
• and
• propagating said initial contour using an evolving elliptical model that is constrained by said intensity constraints to define a boundary of said lymph node.