Automatic patient table removal in CT images

In many medical imaging applications, it is desirable and important to localize and remove the patient table from CT images. However, existing methods often require user interactions to define the table and sometimes make inaccurate assumptions about the table shape. Due to different patient table designs, shapes, and characteristics, these methods are not robust in identifying and removing the patient table. This paper proposes a new automatic approach which first identifies and locates the patient table in the sagittal planes and then removes it from the axial planes. The method has been tested successfully against different tables in different products from multiple vendors, showing it is both a versatile and robust technique for patient table removal.