Automatic segmentation of the brain in MRI

This paper describes a robust fully automatic method for segmenting the brain from head MR images, which works even in the presence of RF inhomogeneities. It has been successful in segmenting the brain in every slice from head images acquired from three different MRI scanners, using different resolution images and different echo sequences. The three-stage integrated method employs image processing techniques based on anisotropic filters, ''snakes'' contouring techniques, and a-priori knowledge. First the background noise is removed leaving a head mask, then a rough outline of the brain is found, and finally the rough brain outline is refined to a final mask.