A general framework for the fusion of anatomical and functional medical images

The collection of various data coming from anatomical and functional imagery is becoming very common for the study of a given pathology, and their aggregation generally allows for a better medical decision in clinical studies. A fusion process is described in this article for the modeling of this aggregation. The process is illustrated in the case of anatomical and functional images of the brain, but the general principle may be extended to other organs. The whole three-step fusion process based on possibilistic lose is detailed and a new class of fusion operator is introduced. The use of fuzziness in the process in general and in the operator in particular allows for the management of uncertainty and imprecision inherent to the images. The fusion process is illustrated in two clinical cases: the study of Alzheimer's disease by MR/SPECT fusion and the study of epilepsy by MR/SPECT/PET fusion. Results are presented and evaluated, and a preliminary clinical validation is achieved. The assessment of the method is encouraging, allowing its application on several clinical problems. (C) 2001 Academic Press.