An Introduction to Statistical Methods of Medical Image Registration

Abstract

After defining the medical image registration problem, we provide a short introduction to a select group of multi-modal image alignment approaches. More precisely, we choose four widely-used statistical methods applied in registration scenarios for analysis and comparison. We clarify the implicit and explicit assumptions made by each, aiming to yield a better understanding of their relative strengths and weaknesses. We also introduce a figural representation of the methods in order to provide an intuitive way of illustrating their similarities and differences.