Merging Medical Images from Two Modalities: Bone Scintigraphy

Medical imaging is a set of techniques used to visualize a part of the human body or an organ and to capture an image of it. There are many imaging modalities (computed tomography (CT), single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), etc.). Each imaging modality has distinct characteristics and is used to highlight specific tissue properties. The examinations are therefore complementary. The physician then makes a diagnosis by viewing the images simultaneously or alternately and synthesizing the different types of information. Image fusion is crucial in certain situations, where combining the information can guide the choice of therapeutic approach. We proposed a method for SPECT/CT cross-modal image fusion for bone imaging, using MATLAB software. We began with a preprocessing step: segmenting the SPECT image sequence, resizing the images, and converting the image format. Next, we performed image fusion using a fusion method that yielded satisfactory results.