Automated method and system for the segmentation of medical images

A method of segmenting and determining a skinline in an image of an anatomic feature of a subject, comprising:

• obtaining said image of said anatomic feature;
• segmenting said image to obtain a segmented image;
• determining an external skinline of said feature using said segmented image;
• determining an internal skinline of said feature using said segmented image;
• and
• measuring a skin thickness of said feature using said internal and external skinlines.

A system for segmenting images, comprising:

• an image acquisition device;
• an image memory connected to said image acquisition device;
• a local range circuit connected to said image memory;
• a modified global thresholding circuit connected to said local range circuit;
• a distance map circuit connected to said modified global thresholding circuit;
• a contouring circuit connected to distance map circuit;
• a contour connection circuit connected to said contouring circuit;
• and
• a display.

A system for segmenting images, comprising:

• an image acquisition device;
• means for determining a global histogram of said image connected to said image acquisition device;
• means for determining a local range of said global histogram connected to said means for determining a global histogram;
• means for modifying said global histogram using said local range;
• means for segmenting said image based upon said modified global histogram.

A system for segmenting and determining a skinline in an image, comprising:

• an image acquisition device;
• a segmentation circuit connected to said image acquisition device;
• a gradient circuit connected to said segmentation circuit;
• a local optimization circuit connected to said gradient circuit;
• a skinline identification circuit;
• and
• a skin analysis circuit.

A system for segmenting an image having an anatomic feature and determining a skinline in said image, comprising:

• an image acquisition device;
• a segmentation circuit connected to said image acquisition device;
• a skinline identification circuit connected to said segmentation circuit;
• a distance circuit connected to said skinline identification circuit;
• and
• an image enhancement circuit connected to said distance circuit.