Uncertainty Modeling in Ultrasound Image Segmentation for Precise Fetal Biometric Measurements

Abstract

Medical image segmentation, particularly in the context of ultrasound data, is a crucial aspect of computer vision and medical imaging. This paper delves into the complexities of uncertainty in the segmentation process, focusing on fetal head and femur ultrasound images. The proposed methodology involves extracting target contours and exploring techniques for precise parameter measurement. Uncertainty modeling methods are employed to enhance the training and testing processes of the segmentation network. The study reveals that the average absolute error in fetal head circumference measurement is 8.0833mm, with a relative error of 4.7347%. Similarly, the average absolute error in fetal femur measurement is 2.6163mm, with a relative error of 6.3336%. Uncertainty modeling experiments employing Test-Time Augmentation (TTA) demonstrate effective interpretability of data uncertainty on both datasets. This suggests that incorporating data uncertainty based on the TTA method can support clinical practitioners in making informed decisions and obtaining more reliable measurement results in practical clinical applications. The paper contributes to the advancement of ultrasound image segmentation, addressing critical challenges and improving the reliability of biometric measurements.