Evaluation of image registration using a mass-spring model of the breast

Deformable motion correction has become a fundamental image processing task for the quantitative analysis of dynamic contrast-enhanced breast magnetic-resonance imaging (MRI). However, although various non-linear image registration techniques are available, objective evaluation remains challenging. In this paper, we propose a biomechanical model of the breast based on a mass-spring system and an internal tetrahedron structure. We demonstrate how this model can be applied to clinical datasets to generate plausible breast deformations for the evaluation. For this purpose, we integrate a thin-plate spline image transformation into the model. Furthermore, we show how the specific model can be used to quantitatively evaluate breast MRI motion correction, and present preliminary registration results achieved with the proposed method.