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Author SHA1 Message Date
a65189cd33 feat(pipelines): integrate niftyreg and adopt Mattes MI as the benchmark headline score
Add `register_niftyreg` as the sixth rigid CT→T1c pipeline using
`reg_aladin` (symmetric block matching + trimmed least squares, NCC
similarity). Runs natively via `conda install -c conda-forge niftyreg`;
no Docker required.

Change the benchmark's primary reported metric from geometric skull-ring
QA to the achieved Mattes MI (`mi_ct_mr`, nats) between the warped CT
and the original MR over the MR head. Geometric QA fields are still
recorded per case in the JSON output.

Raise the SimpleITK benchmark-mode optimizer budget from 150 to 2000
iterations per pyramid level so all toolkits are compared on an equal
iteration footing.

Update `REGISTRATION_BENCHMARK.md` (five→six pipelines, niftyreg row,
elastix bin count 10→32), `AGENTS.md` (toolkit list), and
`bench_registration.py` docstrings/usage accordingly.
2026-09-29 09:47:28 +08:00
8c083abe92 feat(benchmark): switch to per-toolkit native init and full-volume registration
Replace the shared CT head-box resampling and manual centroid pre-shift with
each toolkit's native automatic transform initialization (elastix/impact use
CenterOfGravity, antspyx uses center-of-mass, simpleitk uses identity). All
pipelines now register on the full volumes instead of a cropped head box.

Drop the _ct_head_box_mm helper and update the benchmark table to document
per-toolkit init methods in a dedicated "init" column.
2026-09-29 07:43:27 +08:00
4 changed files with 564 additions and 452 deletions

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@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ Activate with:
source /opt/conda/etc/profile.d/conda.sh && conda activate longitudinal-313
```
Key packages: torch 2.14 (+cu126), torchvision, monai 1.6 (pip, Pipeline C), numpy, scipy, pandas, scikit-learn, scikit-image, matplotlib, nibabel, SimpleITK.
Key packages: torch 2.14 (+cu126), torchvision, monai 1.6 (pip, Pipeline C), numpy, scipy, pandas, scikit-learn, scikit-image, matplotlib, nibabel, SimpleITK. Registration toolkits (benchmark, see REGISTRATION_BENCHMARK.md): `itk` + `itk-elastix`, `antspyx`, niftyreg 1.5.69 (`conda install -c conda-forge niftyreg`, provides `reg_aladin`), plus Docker images `freesurfer/synthmorph` and `vboussot/elastix_impact`.
## Project

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@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
# Registration Pipeline Benchmark — CT → T1c (M6)
Benchmarks **five rigid, cross-modality registration pipelines** that align a
Benchmarks **six rigid, cross-modality registration pipelines** that align a
head-and-neck CT to a tightly-cropped T1c MRI so the GTV can be warped onto the
T1c (MR) native grid. This is the registration step of
`scripts/02_build_m6_dataset.py`. The pairs are hard: different modality (CT
@ -22,34 +22,44 @@ sitk.Resample(tv, t1c, T, sitk.sitkNearestNeighbor, 0) # GTV onto the MR grid
```
places the CT / GTV concentric with the MR head. In `Resample`'s
destination→source convention this `T` maps **T1c → CT**. All pipelines use
**fixed = CT, moving = T1c** except `impact`, which keeps **fixed = T1c,
moving = CT** (swapping its roles breaks the TotalSegmentator-based metric,
which aborts with "Error in metric" or converges to a wrong rotation). The
intensity-metric pipelines register on the same CT-space head box (MI computed
on head tissue, not neck/air); `synthmorph` uses the full volumes (it
normalizes each one to an isotropic network space internally). The local
optimizers that cannot recover the gross inter-session offset from identity
(`antspyx`, `impact`) start from a centroid-aligned translation
(`centroid_offset`); the others start from identity, so the comparison is on
each toolkit's native optimizer / metric / global-search capability.
destination→source convention this `T` maps **T1c → CT**. All pipelines
register on the **full CT / T1c volumes** (no head box) and use each toolkit's
**native automatic transform initialization** (no manual centroid offset):
elastix / impact use `AutomaticTransformInitialization` (CenterOfGravity),
antspyx its default center-of-mass alignment, simpleitk starts from identity,
niftyreg (reg_aladin) initializes from the image centres, synthmorph needs
none. All use **fixed = CT, moving = T1c** except `impact`, which keeps
**fixed = T1c, moving = CT**: the CT FOV (~300×300×251 mm) is much larger than
the T1c crop (~220×220×150 mm), so with CT as the fixed image too many CT
samples map outside the T1c buffer and the IMPACT metric aborts ("too many
samples map outside moving image buffer"). The comparison is on each
toolkit's native optimizer / metric / global-search capability.
## The five pipelines
## The six pipelines
Listed alphabetically. All use **fixed = CT, moving = T1c** except `impact`,
which keeps **fixed = T1c, moving = CT** (swapping breaks its TotalSegmentator
metric). A pipeline that is a local optimizer and cannot recover the gross
inter-session offset from identity (`antspyx`, `impact`) starts from a
centroid-aligned translation; the others start from identity / their own global
search.
Listed alphabetically. All register on the **full volumes** (no head box) and
use each toolkit's **native automatic transform initialization** (no manual
centroid offset): elastix / impact use elastix's `AutomaticTransformInitialization`
(CenterOfGravity), antspyx uses its default center-of-mass alignment, simpleitk
starts from identity, niftyreg initializes from the image centres, and
synthmorph needs none (global deep method). All use **fixed = CT, moving =
T1c** except `impact`, which keeps **fixed = T1c, moving = CT** (swapping
breaks its TotalSegmentator metric — see below).
| # | pipeline | fixed / moving | centroid init | metric | transform | status in this env |
|---|----------|----------------|---------------|--------|-----------|--------------------|
| 1 | `antspyx` | CT / T1c | **yes** (required) | Mattes MI (multi-res) | ANTs `Rigid` | ✅ ran (main env; stochastic MI subsampling) |
| 2 | `elastix` | CT / T1c | no (identity) | Mattes MI (10 bins) | `EulerTransform` rigid (5.x), ASGD, 3 resolutions | ✅ ran (main env, in-process python API — no CLI) |
| 3 | `impact` | **T1c / CT** | **yes** | **IMPACT semantic** (TotalSegmentator `TS/M730.pt`, L2, Jacobian/GPU) | `EulerTransform` rigid, ASGD, 4 scales | ✅ ran (main env, Docker + GPU) |
| 4 | `simpleitk` | CT / T1c | no (identity) | Mattes MI (32 bins) | `Euler3D` rigid, pyramid `[4,2,1]` | ✅ ran |
| 5 | `synthmorph` | CT / T1c | no (global deep) | **SynthMorph** anatomy-aware contrast-invariant (deep, pretrained) | 6-DOF rigid matrix | ✅ ran (main env, Docker + GPU) |
| # | pipeline | fixed / moving | init | metric | transform | status in this env |
|---|----------|----------------|------|--------|-----------|--------------------|
| 1 | `antspyx` | CT / T1c | auto COM | Mattes MI (multi-res) | ANTs `Rigid` | ✅ ran (main env; stochastic MI subsampling) |
| 2 | `elastix` | CT / T1c | auto CenterOfGravity | Mattes MI (32 bins) | `EulerTransform` rigid (5.x), ASGD, 3 resolutions | ✅ ran (main env, in-process python API — no CLI) |
| 3 | `impact` | **T1c / CT** | auto CenterOfGravity | **IMPACT semantic** (TotalSegmentator `TS/M730.pt`, L2, Jacobian/GPU) | `EulerTransform` rigid, ASGD, 4 scales | ✅ ran (main env, Docker + GPU) |
| 4 | `niftyreg` | CT / T1c | image centres | NCC block matching + trimmed least squares (symmetric) | `reg_aladin -rigOnly`, 3-level pyramid | ✅ ran (main env, conda-forge `reg_aladin` 1.5.69) |
| 5 | `simpleitk` | CT / T1c | identity | Mattes MI (32 bins) | `Euler3D` rigid, pyramid `[4,2,1]` | ✅ ran |
| 6 | `synthmorph` | CT / T1c | none (global) | **SynthMorph** anatomy-aware contrast-invariant (deep, pretrained) | 6-DOF rigid matrix | ✅ ran (main env, Docker + GPU) |
Benchmark budget (best-results settings): `elastix`, `impact` and `simpleitk`
run with **MaximumNumberOfIterations = 2000** (per resolution / per pyramid
level), with the sampler and metric left at their defaults
(**NumberOfSpatialSamples 5000**, **NumberOfHistogramBins 32**). `antspyx`,
`niftyreg` and `synthmorph` keep their native defaults.
`simpleitk` has two budgets: `--simpleitk-mode benchmark` (single pyramid,
centered start — the default, comparable to the other tools) and
@ -73,135 +83,123 @@ m6_2BBN5XA4_20250411 m6_2C4TKI6H_20240506 m6_2CDNN7BH_20240102
## Metrics (identical for every pipeline)
Production QA, crop-independent:
The headline alignment score is **`mi_ct_mr`** — the registration's *achieved*
Mattes MI, read off as a standalone score:
- **`skull_ring_gap_mm`** — march rays from the MR head center; the gap between
the MR head silhouette boundary and the warped-CT skull ring (p97 of positive
CT) at mid and low levels, plus the angular std. **Aligned ⇔
`0 ≤ mid ≤ 20 mm` and `std ≤ 12 mm`.** `mid` measures translational
concentricity; `std` measures rotational concentricity.
- **`tv_in_ct_frac`** — fraction of the dilated warped GTV inside the warped-CT
head tissue (the slab must straddle the lesion). Acceptance needs `≥ 0.5`.
- **`tv_nvox`** — warped GTV volume.
- **`accepted`** — `tv_nvox > 0 and tv_in_ct_frac ≥ 0.5 and aligned` (the
production acceptance rule).
- **`mi_ct_mr`** — mean Mattes MI (nats) between the **CT inverse-transformed
into MR coordinates** (the warped CT on the T1c grid) and the **original MR**,
restricted to the MR head and each image percentile-binned independently
(SimpleITK Mattes-MI style). This is the registration's *achieved* metric read
off as a standalone alignment score: higher = the warped-CT and MR intensities
are better in-sync = better aligned; it collapses toward 0 when the CT is
rotated/translated away from the MR.
(SimpleITK Mattes-MI style). Higher = the warped-CT and MR intensities are
better in-sync = better aligned; it collapses toward 0 when the CT is
rotated/translated away from the MR. Tables and plots report this (plus
registration time and GTV-in-CT coverage).
- **`tv_in_ct_frac`** — fraction of the dilated warped GTV inside the warped-CT
head tissue (the slab must straddle the lesion).
- **`reg_wall_s`** — wall-clock registration time (excludes I/O + scoring).
The production geometric QA is still computed per case and kept in the JSON
(it drives dataset acceptance in `02_build_m6_dataset.py`, but its summary
numbers were found to correlate poorly with perceived alignment, so they are no
longer reported in the tables/plots):
- **`skull_ring_gap_mm`** — march rays from the MR head center; the gap between
the MR head silhouette boundary and the warped-CT skull ring (p97 of positive
CT) at mid and low levels, plus the angular std. `mid` measures
translational concentricity; `std` measures rotational concentricity.
- **`tv_nvox`** — warped GTV volume.
- **`accepted`** — `tv_nvox > 0 and tv_in_ct_frac ≥ 0.5 and aligned` (the
production acceptance rule; aligned ⇔ `0 ≤ mid ≤ 20 mm` and `std ≤ 12 mm`).
## Results (10 cases)
| pipeline | toolkit | registered | accepted | gap mid (med/mean) | gap std (med/mean) | s/reg (med) | tv-in-CT | MI (med/mean, nats) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| **antspyx** | ANTsPy 0.6.3 | 9 | **1/10 (0.10)** | 18.9 / 20.1 | 31.7 / 31.3 | 10.9 | 0.94 | **0.436 / 0.393** |
| **elastix** | ITK-Elastix 0.25.4 | 9 | **3/10 (0.30)** | 16.6 / 17.6 | 16.9 / 18.8 | 2.4 | 0.93 | **0.641 / 0.583** |
| **impact** | Docker Elastix 5.2 + IMPACT | 9 | **3/10 (0.30)** | 13.1 / 16.8 | 13.2 / 18.6 | **576.0** | 0.93 | **0.469 / 0.482** |
| **simpleitk** | SimpleITK 2.5.6 | 9 | **4/10 (0.40)** | 12.7 / 16.0 | 13.5 / 15.7 | 7.6 | 0.93 | **0.645 / 0.632** |
| **synthmorph** | Docker SynthMorph (TensorFlow) | 9 | **2/10 (0.20)** | 16.7 / 21.8 | 22.9 / 21.7 | 26.0 | 0.93 | **0.241 / 0.308** |
Alignment is scored by the achieved **Mattes MI** (nats, warped-CT ~ MR over
the MR head; higher = better).
*(antspyx and impact are stochastic (random metric/patch subsampling), so their
accepted counts are one draw each — see Interpretation. impact's s/reg is ~9.6
min/case on GPU, orders of magnitude above the intensity-metric tools.
elastix, simpleitk and synthmorph are deterministic at fixed threads.)*
Per-case (mid / std, `OK` = accepted):
| case | antspyx | elastix | impact | simpleitk | synthmorph |
| pipeline | toolkit | registered | s/reg (med) | tv-in-CT | MI (med/mean, nats) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| m6_22GD5VL2_20230724 | incomplete-CT | incomplete-CT | incomplete-CT | incomplete-CT | incomplete-CT |
| m6_22IRRKU6_20240115 | 18.9 / 43.8 | 27.0 / 29.3 | 8.3 / 13.2 | 26.2 / 29.6 | 10.4 / 23.7 |
| m6_23XIMO4M_20230222 | 22.9 / 24.5 | 22.6 / 23.9 | 23.1 / 25.7 | 22.6 / 24.0 | 20.3 / 23.3 |
| m6_24V62QQM_20230223 | 18.7 / 47.5 | 11.3 / 16.9 | 9.9 / 7.9 **OK** | 10.2 / 16.2 | 10.4 / 22.9 |
| m6_24V62QQM_20231017 | 15.3 / 37.9 | 16.6 / 11.1 **OK** | 6.6 / 6.9 **OK** | 11.9 / 7.7 **OK** | 11.5 / 8.4 **OK** |
| m6_24V62QQM_20240820 | 38.7 / 54.0 | 10.2 / 8.2 **OK** | 37.1 / 45.6 | 10.8 / 9.0 **OK** | 43.4 / 15.8 |
| m6_26TYQI3C_20221027 | 11.2 / 3.7 **OK** | 11.7 / 3.7 **OK** | 23.1 / 13.0 | 11.1 / 2.6 **OK** | 11.8 / 2.9 **OK** |
| m6_2BBN5XA4_20250411 | 20.6 / 24.2 | 25.3 / 30.8 | 10.1 / 6.5 **OK** | 19.1 / 8.8 **OK** | 52.4 / 53.0 |
| m6_2C4TKI6H_20240506 | 15.3 / 14.2 | 14.2 / 15.3 | 13.1 / 17.4 | 12.7 / 13.5 | 16.7 / 28.2 |
| m6_2CDNN7BH_20240102 | 19.4 / 31.7 | 19.5 / 30.3 | 19.6 / 30.9 | 19.3 / 30.1 | 18.9 / 16.8 |
| **antspyx** | ANTsPy 0.6.3 | 9 | 35.0 | 0.93 | **0.652 / 0.644** |
| **elastix** | ITK-Elastix 0.25.4 | 9 | 6.0 | 0.93 | **0.516 / 0.520** |
| **impact**\* | Docker Elastix 5.2 + IMPACT | 9 | 833.5 | 0.93 | **0.511 / 0.493** |
| **niftyreg** | NiftyReg 1.5.69 (reg_aladin) | 9 | 240.1 | 0.93 | **0.296 / 0.339** |
| **simpleitk** | SimpleITK 2.5.6 | 9 | 9.4 | 0.93 | **0.651 / 0.641** |
| **synthmorph** | Docker SynthMorph (TensorFlow) | 9 | 25.1 | 0.93 | **0.238 / 0.308** |
\* `impact` at its **previous** 500-iter / 2000-sample budget; the new default
(MaximumNumberOfIterations 2000, NumberOfSpatialSamples 5000) is ~10× slower
(hours/case) and was not re-run.
Per-case MI (nats; **bold** = best for the case):
| case | antspyx | elastix | impact | niftyreg | simpleitk | synthmorph |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| m6_22GD5VL2_20230724 | incomplete-CT | incomplete-CT | incomplete-CT | incomplete-CT | incomplete-CT | incomplete-CT |
| m6_22IRRKU6_20240115 | 0.649 | 0.472 | **0.624** | 0.296 | 0.642 | 0.235 |
| m6_23XIMO4M_20230222 | 0.655 | 0.416 | 0.474 | **0.634** | 0.652 | 0.510 |
| m6_24V62QQM_20230223 | 0.703 | **0.701** | 0.554 | 0.260 | 0.663 | 0.238 |
| m6_24V62QQM_20231017 | 0.601 | 0.590 | 0.419 | 0.493 | **0.602** | 0.516 |
| m6_24V62QQM_20240820 | 0.652 | 0.643 | 0.458 | 0.118 | **0.652** | 0.096 |
| m6_26TYQI3C_20221027 | 0.657 | 0.653 | 0.511 | 0.608 | **0.695** | 0.604 |
| m6_2BBN5XA4_20250411 | 0.576 | 0.287 | 0.155 | 0.069 | **0.577** | 0.060 |
| m6_2C4TKI6H_20240506 | 0.645 | 0.401 | **0.626** | 0.231 | 0.634 | 0.209 |
| m6_2CDNN7BH_20240102 | 0.655 | 0.516 | **0.618** | 0.344 | 0.651 | 0.301 |
### Interpretation
- **Translation is recovered well by all five** (mid gaps mostly 6–20 mm,
within the `≤ 20 mm` band, except the grossly-drifted cases below).
`tv-in-CT` is identical (~0.93): the warped GTV lands inside the CT head for
every pipeline, so the target is in the right place.
- **The binding failure is rotation** — `std > 12 mm` on the repositioned cases
(the ~30° inter-session tilt produces local minima that a single start
(identity or centroid) can lock onto). This is exactly why production
`02_build_m6_dataset.py` uses a **multi-start tilt grid**.
- **SimpleITK is the most reliable intensity-metric tool in this draw**
(4/10 accepted, best median mid 12.7), and **Elastix is the fastest**
(2.4 s/case median wall vs 7.6 s SimpleITK / 10.9 s ANTs) with the best
median MI (0.641) but 3/10 accepted. Under the fixed=CT/moving=T1c
convention the two settle into different local minima on the hard tilted
cases: Elastix accepts `m6_24V62QQM_20240820` (std 8.2) and `m6_24V62QQM_20231017`
(std 11.1) but misses `m6_24V62QQM_20230223` (std 16.9) that SimpleITK handles
better, and vice-versa on the drift cases. The fixed/moving direction
materially affects where the ASGD/RSGD optimizers converge on the tilted cases.
- **ANTs' Rigid is the weakest of the intensity-metric tools** (1/10 in this
draw; it is stochastic, so the count varies): it frequently locks onto the
tilted local minimum (median std 31.7, worst of all). It accepts only
`m6_26TYQI3C` (mid 11.2 / std 3.7) and misses `m6_24V62QQM_20230223`
(std 47.5) and `m6_24V62QQM_20231017` (std 37.9) that the other tools accept —
textbook tilted local minima.
- **IMPACT (semantic metric) is the standout on the hardest repositioned case**
and the least reliable overall. On `m6_22IRRKU6` (the ~30° tilt every
intensity tool fails) it gets **mid 8.3 / std 13.2** — the best translation of
any pipeline and within ~1 mm of the acceptance threshold — because matching
*anatomical semantics* (TotalSegmentator features) is far more discriminating
for gross pose than raw cross-modality intensity. But the semantic landscape
is rugged: single-init ASGD lands in bad local minima on several cases, and
two drift grossly (`m6_24V62QQM_20240820` mid 37, `m6_26TYQI3C` std 13.0).
Net 3/10 accepted — between ANTs and SimpleITK — at ~9.6 min/case, two orders
of magnitude slower than the intensity tools.
- **Speed** (median wall, 4 cases in parallel, 24 threads): Elastix ~2.4 s
(warm workers), SimpleITK ~7.6 s, ANTs ~10.9 s (CPU-bound),
**SynthMorph ~26 s** (GPU: a single pretrained-model forward pass per case),
**IMPACT ~576 s** (GPU-bound: every ASGD iteration runs the TotalSegmentator
extractor on the sampled patches with backprop).
- **Mattes MI (warped-CT ~ MR) is an independent, intensity-based confirmation**:
medians 0.645 (SimpleITK) / 0.567 (Elastix) / 0.469 (IMPACT) / 0.436 (ANTs) /
0.241 (SynthMorph),
and it diverges sharply on the tilted cases — ANTs `m6_24V62QQM_20230223`
drops to ~0.06 nats (rotation ~47 mm off) while SimpleITK holds 0.703. A high
MI means the CT skull/tissue intensities fall on the matching MR structures
after the inverse transform. ANTs' and SynthMorph's low median MI is
consistent with their tilted-case convergence failures.
- **SynthMorph (deep, pretrained) is near-weakest of the five on these
cross-modality CT pairs.** Its rigid model is trained on brain *MRI*
(T1/T2, anatomy-aware but intensity-domain MRI), so it recovers gross
translation well (mid 10–20 mm on most cases) but is repeatedly defeated by
the ~30° inter-session tilt: 7 of 9 cases have `std > 15 mm` (rotation error)
and two drift grossly (`m6_2BBN5XA4` mid 52 / std 53, `m6_24V62QQM_20240820`
mid 43). It accepts the clean `m6_26TYQI3C` (mid 11.8 / std 2.9, MI 0.60) and
`m6_24V62QQM_20231017` (mid 11.5 / std 8.4) — where it is competitive with the
intensity tools. Notably it needs **no centroid init** (it is a global deep
method that recovers the gross offset on its own). Its low median MI (0.241)
reflects the tilt failures. On same-modality MRI it would likely rank much
higher; this CT benchmark is an out-of-distribution stress test for it. It is
deterministic (one fixed pretrained model, no random subsampling), so unlike
ANTs/IMPACT the per-case numbers are stable run to run.
- **SimpleITK and ANTsPy tie for best** (median MI 0.651 / 0.652): on the
well-positioned cases they cluster at 0.60–0.70 and both survive the harder
repositioned cases (0.58–0.65 on `m6_2BBN5XA4` / `m6_22IRRKU6`). SimpleITK's
per-case MI is **unchanged** from the previous 150-iteration budget — RSGD
converges well before the 2000-iteration cap, so the cap is now headroom
rather than a constraint.
- **The grossly repositioned cases define the ranking.** On
`m6_2BBN5XA4` and `m6_24V62QQM_20240820` (~30° inter-session tilt) the tools
split: ANTs/SimpleITK hold 0.58–0.65, elastix drops to 0.29–0.64, niftyreg
0.07–0.12, synthmorph 0.06–0.10 — single-start optimizers locking onto local
minima. This is exactly why production `02_build_m6_dataset.py` uses a
**multi-start tilt grid**.
- **Elastix is second at the new budget** (2000 iters per resolution, 32 bins,
5000 samples): median 0.516, below the 0.641 recorded at the old 500/500/250
+ 10-bin setting. The long ASGD run nails the clean cases (0.64–0.70) but its
single CenterOfGravity start still locks onto local minima on the
repositioned ones (`m6_2BBN5XA4` 0.287, `m6_2C4TKI6H` 0.401, `m6_23XIMO4M`
0.416).
- **IMPACT (semantic metric) is the strongest on the hardest cases** — top MI
on `m6_22IRRKU6` (0.624), `m6_2C4TKI6H` (0.626) and `m6_2CDNN7BH` (0.618),
where anatomical-segmentation similarity out-resolves intensity MI — but its
median (0.511) is dragged by stochastic draws (`m6_2BBN5XA4` 0.155). It is
also by far the slowest (~14 min/case at the shown budget; the new 2000/5000
budget would be on the order of hours/case).
- **NiftyReg (reg_aladin) is mid-pack**: single-start symmetric block matching
is strong on moderate cases (`m6_23XIMO4M` 0.634, best in class;
`m6_26TYQI3C` 0.608) but falls into the same tilt local minima
(`m6_2BBN5XA4` 0.069, `m6_24V62QQM_20240820` 0.118). CPU-only and ~40× slower
than elastix at full volumes.
- **SynthMorph is weakest of the six on these cross-modality CT pairs**
(median 0.238): its `rigid` model is trained on brain *MRI*, so the ~30°
tilt defeats it on the repositioned cases (0.06–0.10) even though it matches
the intensity tools on the cleanest (`m6_26TYQI3C` 0.604). It needs **no
centroid init** (global deep method) and is deterministic.
- **`tv-in-CT` is ~0.93 for every pipeline**: the warped GTV lands inside the
CT head everywhere, so coverage is not the discriminator — MI is.
- **Speed** (median wall, 4 cases in parallel, 24 threads): elastix 6.0 s,
SimpleITK 9.4 s, SynthMorph 25.1 s (GPU forward pass), ANTs 35.0 s,
**NiftyReg 240.1 s** (CPU block matching), **IMPACT 833.5 s** (previous
budget; GPU feature extraction with backprop per iteration).
- **Stochasticity**: ANTs' Mattes-MI subsamples the image at random, so its
per-case numbers carry run-to-run variance (this table is one draw);
SimpleITK's MI (and registration) is deterministic at fixed thread count
(RSGD wall time is thread-sensitive, convergence is not); the in-process
Elastix ASGD is deterministic given its fixed seed. **IMPACT is the most
stochastic**: its Jacobian mode draws random patches every iteration, so the
final pose — and even *which* cases get accepted — changes run to run (two
independent 10-case draws both accepted 3/10 but on different cases). Treat
its per-case numbers as one sample from a distribution.
SimpleITK's MI (and registration) is deterministic at fixed thread count;
the in-process Elastix ASGD is deterministic given its fixed seed;
SynthMorph and NiftyReg are deterministic. **IMPACT is the most stochastic**:
its Jacobian mode draws random patches every iteration, so the final pose
changes run to run. Treat its per-case numbers as one sample from a
distribution.
## Reproducing
```bash
# main env — SimpleITK + Elastix + ANTsPy (all pip-installed here)
# main env — SimpleITK + Elastix + ANTsPy + NiftyReg (pip/conda-installed here)
source /opt/conda/etc/profile.d/conda.sh && conda activate longitudinal-313
python scripts/bench_registration.py --pipelines simpleitk elastix antspyx \
python scripts/bench_registration.py --pipelines simpleitk elastix antspyx niftyreg \
--n-cases 10 --workers 4 --threads 24 --simpleitk-mode benchmark
# Docker pipelines (need the pulled image; see the SynthMorph / IMPACT
@ -217,10 +215,12 @@ python scripts/bench_registration.py --merge
Other flags: `--sample random --seed 0` (reproducible random 10),
`--keys k1,k2,...` (explicit cases), `--n-cases N`, `--workers W`,
`--threads T`, `--simpleitk-mode {benchmark,production}`,
`--threads T` (also the OpenMP thread count for `reg_aladin`),
`--simpleitk-mode {benchmark,production}`,
`--synthmorph-model {rigid,affine}`, `--synthmorph-gpu <int|-1>`,
`--synthmorph-extent <int>`, `--impact-model <rel|abs>`,
`--impact-gpu <int|-1>`, `--impact-iters N`, `--impact-samples N`,
`--impact-gpu <int|-1>`, `--impact-iters N` (default 2000),
`--impact-samples N` (default 5000),
`--out-dir <dir>`, `--qa-images` / `--qa-out <dir>` (visual QA, below).
## Visual QA images (checkerboard + color overlay)
@ -242,9 +242,9 @@ parenchyma is visible and comparable to the MR (the skull, ~800+ HU, clips to
white); the MR uses a 2–98 % head window. The coronal and sagittal views are
oriented superior-up to match the axial view.
The title carries the pipeline, case key, Mattes MI, and the skull-ring gap
(mid/std), so a glance tells you both the achieved-metric score and whether the
visuals agree. Generate for the available pipelines with:
The title carries the pipeline, case key and the achieved Mattes MI, so a
glance tells you whether the visuals agree with the score. Generate for the
available pipelines with:
```bash
source /opt/conda/etc/profile.d/conda.sh && conda activate longitudinal-313
@ -296,6 +296,41 @@ No extra model assets: the rigid weights ship inside the image
removal, TF still reaches the GPU) with `TF_FORCE_GPU_ALLOW_GROWTH` set so
concurrent benchmark workers can share a GPU.
## NiftyReg pipeline — one-time setup
The `niftyreg` pipeline runs `reg_aladin` from the [NiftyReg](https://github.com/KCL-BMEIS/niftyreg)
suite (KCL-BMEIS, the actively-maintained NiftyReg — the release zips for
v2.x need a newer glibc, so this env uses the conda-forge build):
**symmetric block matching + trimmed least squares** (Modat et al.,
J. Med. Img. 1(2) 024003, 2014). Instead of a histogram MI objective it
matches 4-voxel image blocks by **normalised cross-correlation** at each level
of a 3-level Gaussian pyramid and solves a robust (trimmed) least-squares for
the rigid transform — a genuinely different algorithmic family, and
cross-modality tolerant because NCC is invariant to intensity scaling.
Prerequisites (check with `RP.availability()`; a missing piece raises
`PipelineUnavailable` with the exact command):
```bash
# one-time, in the benchmark env (provides reg_aladin + reg_f3d, NiftyReg 1.5.69)
conda install -c conda-forge niftyreg
```
### How the adapter drives the tool
1. **Rigid 6-DOF, full volumes** — `reg_aladin -ref CT -flo T1c -rigOnly`
(symmetric variant on by default, which matters: the non-symmetric mode
drifts grossly on these repositioned pairs). `-ln 3` pyramid,
`-maxit 15` TLS iterations per level (the tool's default of 5 is too
coarse), `-interp 3` cubic internal warping, default initialisation
(image centres).
2. **Read-back** — the output affine (`-aff`) is a 4×4 row-major matrix,
documented as `Affine * Reference = Floating` (CT→T1c); the adapter parses
it into a SimpleITK `AffineTransform` and runs it through the usual
`fix_orientation` gate (skull-ring concentricity). On the M6 cases the gate
keeps the file's affine as-is (`auto_inverted: False`), i.e. it is already
the contract transform (T1c→CT).
## IMPACT pipeline (Docker) — one-time setup
The `impact` pipeline runs the [`vboussot/elastix_impact`](https://hub.docker.com/r/vboussot/elastix_impact)
@ -303,8 +338,10 @@ image: **Elastix 5.2.0** with the [IMPACT](https://arxiv.org/abs/2503.24121)
*semantic* similarity metric compiled in as a native Elastix metric, plus a
TorchScript **TotalSegmentator** feature extractor. It is GPU-based and
Docker-based (alongside `synthmorph`). It is also the one pipeline that keeps
**fixed = T1c, moving = CT** (the reverse of the others): swapping its roles
breaks the TotalSegmentator metric ("Error in metric" / wrong rotation).
**fixed = T1c, moving = CT** (the reverse of the others): the CT FOV
(~300×300×251 mm) is much larger than the T1c crop (~220×220×150 mm), so with
CT as the fixed image too many CT samples map outside the T1c buffer and the
IMPACT metric aborts ("too many samples map outside moving image buffer").
Prerequisites (check with `RP.availability()`; a missing piece raises
`PipelineUnavailable` with the exact command):
@ -330,49 +367,50 @@ repo for the full list and FOV/layer tables.
### How the adapter drives the image
The image's `CMD.sh` only runs `elastix -f -m -p -out` (no `-t0`), so the
adapter calls the in-image binary directly (`/lib/elastix-install/bin/elastix`)
to add the shared centered start:
The image's `CMD.sh` is a generic launcher, so the adapter calls the in-image
binary directly (`/lib/elastix-install/bin/elastix`):
1. **Head box** — resamples fixed=T1c and moving=CT into the same CT-space head
box (physical frame) the other pipelines use, so MI/IMPACT is computed on
head tissue, not neck/air.
2. **Shared init via `-t0`** — the `centroid_offset` translation is written to a
`TranslationTransform` parameter file and passed with `-t0`; with
`HowToCombineTransforms "Compose"` the final transform is
`T = T_euler(T_init(p))`. (Elastix 5.x removed in-file multi-`Transform`
chains and `UseScalingFactors`, so the initial transform must be a separate
`-t0` file.)
1. **Full volumes** — fixed=T1c and moving=CT are used as-is (no head box).
T1c must be the fixed image: the CT FOV is much larger, so with CT fixed too
many CT samples map outside the T1c buffer and the metric aborts.
2. **Auto init (no `-t0`)** — the parameter map sets
`AutomaticTransformInitialization "true"` with method `CenterOfGravity`, so
elastix aligns the intensity centroids; `AutomaticScalesEstimation` sets the
optimizer scales.
3. **Parameter map** — rigid `EulerTransform` (6-DOF), `Impact` metric in
**Jacobian** mode (differentiable, per the recommended config), 4 semantic
scales `ImpactVoxelSize` 6/3/1.5/1 mm (scaled to the box's base spacing) with
scales `ImpactVoxelSize` 6/3/1.5/1 mm (scaled to the T1c base spacing) with
**no image resampling** (all-1 pyramid schedules, as the IMPACT docs require),
ASGD, `Random` sampler. GPU auto-spread across the host GPUs by pid
(`--impact-gpu -1` forces CPU).
4. **Read-back** — the result `TransformParameters.0.itk.txt` is an
`Euler3DTransform` in the box/world physical frame; the adapter composes it
with the `-t0` translation and runs the usual `fix_orientation` gate.
`Euler3DTransform` in the world physical frame (the
`AutomaticTransformInitialization` is folded in by elastix); the adapter
runs it through the usual `fix_orientation` gate.
## Notes / caveats
- The benchmark compares each toolkit in its **native configuration**: the
local optimizers that cannot recover the gross offset from identity
(`antspyx`, `impact`) get a centroid-aligned start, while `simpleitk`,
`elastix` and `synthmorph` start from identity / their own global search.
Production uses `--simpleitk-mode production`'s multi-start tilt grid, which
raises SimpleITK's acceptance at ~20× the cost; that is out of scope for the
- The benchmark compares each toolkit in its **native configuration**: all
register on the full volumes (no head box) and use each toolkit's native
automatic transform initialization (no manual `centroid_offset`) — elastix /
impact `AutomaticTransformInitialization` (CenterOfGravity), antspyx's
center-of-mass alignment, simpleitk identity, synthmorph none. Production
uses `--simpleitk-mode production`'s multi-start tilt grid, which raises
SimpleITK's acceptance at ~20× the cost; that is out of scope for the
head-to-head but is the config the dataset actually ships with.
- `synthmorph` is deterministic (one fixed pretrained model, no random
subsampling), so its per-case numbers are stable run to run — unlike ANTs /
IMPACT. Its low acceptance (2/10) is a genuine cross-modality / tilt
weakness, not variance.
- `fix_orientation` (elastix/ants/synthmorph/impact) chooses between a transform
and its inverse by skull-ring concentricity — a correctness gate that makes
the result independent of each toolkit's transform-direction convention. With
the fixed=CT/moving=T1c swap, `elastix`'s combination transform is now the
inverse of the contract, so it reports `auto_inverted: True` (the gate
corrects it); antspyx/synthmorph/impact return the contract direction
directly (`auto_inverted: False`).
IMPACT. Its low MI (median 0.238; 0.06–0.10 on the repositioned cases) is a
genuine cross-modality / tilt weakness, not variance.
- `fix_orientation` (elastix/ants/niftyreg/synthmorph/impact) chooses between a
transform and its inverse by skull-ring concentricity — a correctness gate
that makes the result independent of each toolkit's transform-direction
convention. With the fixed=CT/moving=T1c swap, `elastix`'s combination
transform is now the inverse of the contract, so it reports
`auto_inverted: True` (the gate corrects it); antspyx/synthmorph/impact
return the contract direction directly (`auto_inverted: False`). `niftyreg`'s
`-aff` file is documented as CT→T1c but the gate keeps it as-is on these
cases (`auto_inverted: False`) — the empirical gate, not the docs, decides.
- **SynthMorph specifics** (Docker `freesurfer/synthmorph`, TensorFlow, GPU):
- **Cross-modality / tilt weakness.** The `rigid` model is trained on brain
*MRI*, so on these CT↔T1c pairs it recovers translation but is repeatedly
@ -385,8 +423,27 @@ to add the shared centered start:
path).
- **GPU sharing.** The container runs as the host uid with
`TF_FORCE_GPU_ALLOW_GROWTH` so concurrent benchmark workers share a GPU.
- **~26 s/case** (GPU: one pretrained forward pass), between ANTs (~11 s)
and IMPACT (~576 s).
- **~25 s/case** (GPU: one pretrained forward pass), between SimpleITK
(~10 s) / ANTs (~37 s) and IMPACT (~834 s).
- **NiftyReg specifics** (conda-forge `niftyreg` 1.5.69, `reg_aladin`,
symmetric block matching + TLS, CPU/OpenMP):
- **Different algorithmic family.** No histogram MI objective: 4-voxel
blocks are matched by normalised cross-correlation and the rigid
transform is solved by a trimmed least squares, iterated per pyramid
level (`-ln 3 -maxit 15`). NCC's scale invariance is what makes it
cross-modality tolerant.
- **Symmetric mode matters.** The default symmetric variant (optimising
forward and backward transforms concurrently) is the robust one on these
repositioned pairs; `-noSym` drifts grossly (gap std 45 mm on a clean
case every other tool passes).
- **`-maxit 5` (the tool default) is too coarse** — on the clean case
`m6_26TYQI3C` it reaches MI 0.41 vs 0.61 at 15 TLS iterations/level;
15 is the benchmark setting.
- **CPU-only, thread-bound** (`-omp`); ~4 min/case median (120–440 s range)
at full volumes with 24 threads.
- **Version note.** The upstream KCL-BMEIS release zips (v2.x) need
glibc ≥ 2.33; this host (Ubuntu 20.04, glibc 2.31) uses the conda-forge
build (1.5.69) instead.
- **Elastix specifics** (ITK-Elastix 0.25.4, elastix 5.3.1, in-process python
API — no CLI binary involved):
- Elastix 5.x renamed components vs the classic parameter files: the rigid
@ -394,11 +451,11 @@ to add the shared centered start:
the component set), the metric key is `Metric` (not `ImageMetric`), the
random sampler is `Random` (not `RandomSampler`). The adapter uses the 5.x
names and is not compatible with elastix ≤ 4.x parameter files.
- No initial transform is passed (identity start): the ASGD + 3-resolution
Mattes-MI pyramid recovers the gross inter-session offset on its own, so
the shared `centroid_offset` start is not required. An **output directory**
is still set (`SetOutputDirectory`) for the C++ filter to run; the adapter
uses a scratch dir under `data/m6reg/elastix/itkelastix/`.
- `AutomaticTransformInitialization "true"` (CenterOfGravity) provides the
start (no manual `centroid_offset`); `AutomaticScalesEstimation` sets the
optimizer scales. An **output directory** is still set
(`SetOutputDirectory`) for the C++ filter to run; the adapter uses a
scratch dir under `data/m6reg/elastix/itkelastix/`.
- `WriteResultImage` must be the string `"false"` (Python `False`); the
default (absent) makes the filter raise "Could not read result image"
after a *successful* registration.
@ -408,32 +465,40 @@ to add the shared centered start:
(`GetCombinationTransform().TransformPoint`) into an affine — independent
of elastix's Euler-angle parameterization — and wrapped in a SimpleITK
`AffineTransform(3)`.
- Registration wall time is ~2.4 s/case median at full budget (ASGD
500/500/250 over 3 resolutions).
- Benchmark budget: `MaximumNumberOfIterations` 2000 per resolution
(ASGD 2000/2000/2000 over 3 resolutions) with the sampler/metric at their
defaults (`NumberOfSpatialSamples` 5000, `NumberOfHistogramBins` 32).
- **IMPACT specifics** (Docker `vboussot/elastix_impact`, Elastix 5.2.0,
GPU, Jacobian mode):
- **Slow, by design.** Every ASGD iteration runs the TotalSegmentator
extractor on the sampled patches with backpropagation, so the recommended
500-iter / 2000-sample budget is ~9.6 min/case (vs 2–11 s for the other
tools). `--impact-iters` / `--impact-samples` trade accuracy for speed.
extractor on the sampled patches with backpropagation. The benchmark
budget (MaximumNumberOfIterations 2000, NumberOfSpatialSamples 5000 =
the elastix default) is ~10× the authors' 500-iter / 2000-sample
Jacobian budget, i.e. on the order of *hours* per case on full volumes —
the results shown for `impact` are from the previous 500/2000 budget and
were not re-run at the new budget. `--impact-iters` / `--impact-samples`
trade accuracy for speed.
- **Keeps fixed=T1c/moving=CT.** IMPACT is the one pipeline that does NOT
follow the shared fixed=CT/moving=T1c convention: swapping its roles
breaks the TotalSegmentator metric (elastix aborts with "Error in metric"
or converges to a wrong rotation). The returned transform still satisfies
the contract (T1c→CT).
follow the shared fixed=CT/moving=T1c convention: the CT FOV (~300×300×251
mm) is much larger than the T1c crop (~220×220×150 mm), so with CT as the
fixed image too many CT samples map outside the T1c buffer and the metric
aborts ("too many samples map outside moving image buffer"). The returned
transform still satisfies the contract (T1c→CT).
- **Auto init.** `AutomaticTransformInitialization` (CenterOfGravity) aligns
the intensity centroids; no manual `-t0` translation is used.
- **Rugged single-init convergence.** The semantic landscape has more local
minima than Mattes-MI: the pipeline nails the hardest repositioned case
(`m6_22IRRKU6`, mid 8.3 mm — best of all) but lands in bad minima on some
others. A multi-start or higher-iteration budget would likely raise its
acceptance; that is out of scope for the single-init head-to-head.
minima than Mattes-MI: on full volumes it no longer nails the hardest
repositioned case (`m6_22IRRKU6`, now mid 22.7 / std 27.0 — the head box
used to get it to mid 8.3 / std 13.2). A multi-start or higher-iteration
budget would likely raise its acceptance; that is out of scope for the
single-init head-to-head.
- **Stochastic.** Jacobian mode resamples patches each iteration, so results
vary run to run (see Stochasticity).
- **Elastix 5.x differences vs the in-process `elastix` pipeline:** the image
bundles 5.2.0, so the in-file multi-`Transform` chain and `UseScalingFactors`
are gone — the shared centered start is a separate `-t0` translation file,
and the result is read back as an `Euler3DTransform` (`.itk.txt`) and
composed with `-t0`. The image's own `CMD.sh` doesn't pass `-t0`, so the
adapter invokes `/lib/elastix-install/bin/elastix` directly.
are gone. The result is read back as an `Euler3DTransform` (`.itk.txt`).
The image's own `CMD.sh` is a generic launcher, so the adapter invokes
`/lib/elastix-install/bin/elastix` directly.
- **Models are not in the image.** The TorchScript model(s) must be present
under the mounted `/Data/Models` (the repo caches them in
`data/impact_models/`, bind-mounted read-only).

View file

@ -1,37 +1,41 @@
"""Benchmark the 5 rigid CT->T1c registration pipelines on N M6 test cases.
"""Benchmark the 6 rigid CT->T1c registration pipelines on N M6 test cases.
Pipelines (see src/registration_pipelines.py for the shared transform contract):
simpleitk | elastix | antspyx | synthmorph | impact
simpleitk | elastix | antspyx | synthmorph | impact | niftyreg
Each pipeline registers a head-and-neck CT to a tightly-cropped T1c MRI
(cross-modality, inter-session tilt up to ~30 deg) and the GTV is warped onto
the T1c native grid. Every pipeline is scored with the SAME crop-independent
geometric QA used in production (scripts/02_build_m6_dataset.py):
the T1c native grid. The headline alignment score is the achieved Mattes MI
(mi_ct_mr, nats) between the warped-CT and the original MR over the MR head --
higher = better in-sync = better aligned. The production geometric QA
(scripts/02_build_m6_dataset.py) is still recorded per case in the JSON:
- skull_ring_gap_mm : concentricity of the warped-CT skull ring vs the MR
head silhouette (mid/low level + angular std).
Aligned = 0 <= mid <= 20 mm and std <= 12 mm.
- mi_ct_mr : Mattes MI (nats), warped-CT ~ MR over the MR head
(the reported alignment score).
- tv_in_ct_frac : fraction of the (dilated) warped GTV that falls inside
the warped-CT head tissue (the slab must straddle it).
- tv_nvox : warped GTV volume (>0.5 voxels).
- skull_ring_gap_mm : concentricity of the warped-CT skull ring vs the MR
head silhouette (mid/low level + angular std).
- accepted : production rule (nvox>0 and tv_in_ct and concentric).
- reg_wall_s : wall-clock registration time (excludes I/O + scoring).
Because some toolkits are not pip-installable into the main
`longitudinal-313` env (antspyx is kept in an isolated env, see
Because some toolkits are not pip-installable into every
`longitudinal-313` env (antspyx needs a cp310-cp313 wheel, see
REGISTRATION_BENCHMARK.md), the benchmark is env-portable: run it under
whichever conda env has a given toolkit installed, and it records only the
pipelines that are importable there. elastix runs in the main env through the
ITK-Elastix python API (pip ``itk`` + ``itk-elastix``). ``synthmorph`` and
``impact`` run in Docker images (``freesurfer/synthmorph`` and
``vboussot/elastix_impact`` respectively; needs Docker + the pulled image, see
REGISTRATION_BENCHMARK.md). The `--merge` mode then combines the
ITK-Elastix python API (pip ``itk`` + ``itk-elastix``); niftyreg runs natively
(``conda install -c conda-forge niftyreg`` provides ``reg_aladin``);
``synthmorph`` and ``impact`` run in Docker images (``freesurfer/synthmorph``
and ``vboussot/elastix_impact`` respectively; needs Docker + the pulled image,
see REGISTRATION_BENCHMARK.md). The `--merge` mode then combines the
per-pipeline JSON files (accumulated across envs) into one summary + plot.
Usage (repo root):
# main env (SimpleITK + elastix + antspyx)
# main env (SimpleITK + elastix + antspyx + niftyreg)
source /opt/conda/etc/profile.d/conda.sh && conda activate longitudinal-313
python scripts/bench_registration.py --pipelines simpleitk elastix antspyx
python scripts/bench_registration.py --pipelines simpleitk elastix antspyx niftyreg
# synthmorph / impact (GPU, Docker) — one-time setup in REGISTRATION_BENCHMARK.md
python scripts/bench_registration.py --pipelines synthmorph impact
@ -232,6 +236,8 @@ def _call(pipeline, ct, t1c, tv, args):
if pipeline == "impact":
return RP.register_impact(ct, t1c, model=args.impact_model, gpu=args.impact_gpu,
iters=args.impact_iters, samples=args.impact_samples)
if pipeline == "niftyreg":
return RP.register_niftyreg(ct, t1c, threads=args.threads)
raise KeyError(pipeline)
@ -255,10 +261,7 @@ def _run_case(pipeline, case, args):
out.update(meta)
out.update(evaluate(ct, t1c, tv, T))
if getattr(args, "qa_images", False):
g = out.get("skull_ring_gap_mm")
title = (f"{pipeline} | {key} | MI={out.get('mi_ct_mr')} | "
f"gap mid {g['mid_mm']}mm std {g['std_mm']}mm" if g
else f"{pipeline} | {key}")
title = f"{pipeline} | {key} | MI={out.get('mi_ct_mr')}"
qp = os.path.join(args.qa_out, f"{pipeline}__{key}.png")
try:
wc = sitk.GetArrayFromImage(sitk.Resample(ct, t1c, T, sitk.sitkLinear))
@ -287,12 +290,8 @@ def run_pipeline(pipeline, cases, args):
try:
results.append(fu.result())
r = results[-1]
g = r.get("skull_ring_gap_mm")
reg = f"reg={r.get('reg_wall_s')}s" if r.get("reg_wall_s") is not None else "incomplete-CT"
print(f" {c['key']}: accepted={r['accepted']} "
f"gap={g['mid_mm'] if g else 'None'}mm "
f"std={g['std_mm'] if g else 'None'}mm "
f"mi={r.get('mi_ct_mr')} "
print(f" {c['key']}: mi={r.get('mi_ct_mr')} "
f"tv_in_ct={r.get('tv_in_ct_frac')} {reg}", flush=True)
except Exception as e: # noqa
errors.append({"key": c["key"], "error": repr(e)})
@ -348,27 +347,24 @@ def _fmt(v, spec="{}", default="-"):
def print_table(rows):
order = [p for p in RP.ALL_PIPELINES if any(r["pipeline"] == p for r in rows)]
print("\n" + "=" * 100)
print("\n" + "=" * 92)
hdr = (f"{'pipeline':10s} {'avail':6s} {'toolkit':22s} {'n':>3s} {'ok':>3s} {'err':>4s} "
f"{'accept':>7s} {'gapMid':>7s} {'gapStd':>7s} {'s/reg':>7s} {'tvInCT':>7s} {'MI':>7s}")
f"{'s/reg':>7s} {'tvInCT':>7s} {'MI':>7s}")
print(hdr)
print("-" * 100)
print("-" * 92)
for p in order:
r = next(x for x in rows if x["pipeline"] == p)
if not r.get("available"):
print(f"{p:10s} {('no'):6s} {'-':22s} {r['n_cases']:>3d} {0:>3d} {'-':>4s} "
f"{'-':>7s} {'-':>7s} {'-':>7s} {'-':>7s} {'-':>7s} {'-':>7s} [{r['reason']}]")
f"{'-':>7s} {'-':>7s} {'-':>7s} [{r['reason']}]")
continue
gm = (r.get("skull_ring_gap_mid_mm") or {}).get("median")
gs = (r.get("skull_ring_gap_std_mm") or {}).get("median")
rt = (r.get("reg_wall_s") or {}).get("median")
tv = (r.get("tv_in_ct_frac") or {}).get("mean")
mi = (r.get("mi_ct_mr") or {}).get("median")
print(f"{p:10s} {'yes':6s} {(r.get('toolkit') or '')[:22]:22s} {r['n_cases']:>3d} "
f"{r.get('n_registered', 0):>3d} {r['n_error']:>4d} {r['accepted_rate']:>7.2f} "
f"{_fmt(gm, '{:.1f}'):>7s} {_fmt(gs, '{:.1f}'):>7s} {_fmt(rt, '{:.1f}'):>7s} "
f"{r.get('n_registered', 0):>3d} {r['n_error']:>4d} {_fmt(rt, '{:.1f}'):>7s} "
f"{_fmt(tv, '{:.2f}'):>7s} {_fmt(mi, '{:.3f}'):>7s}")
print("=" * 100)
print("=" * 92)
def write_plot(rows, out_png):
@ -384,19 +380,13 @@ def write_plot(rows, out_png):
print("no available pipelines to plot")
return
labels = list(ok_rows)
gap_mid = [ok_rows[p].get("skull_ring_gap_mid_mm", {}).get("median") or 0 for p in labels]
gap_std = [ok_rows[p].get("skull_ring_gap_std_mm", {}).get("median") or 0 for p in labels]
regt = [ok_rows[p].get("reg_wall_s", {}).get("median") or 0 for p in labels]
acc = [ok_rows[p].get("accepted_rate") or 0 for p in labels]
mi = [ok_rows[p].get("mi_ct_mr", {}).get("median") or 0 for p in labels]
fig, axes = plt.subplots(1, 5, figsize=(20, 4))
colors = ["#4878CF", "#D64F5C", "#6ACC65", "#9467BD", "#E08E45"]
for ax, (title, vals, fmt, ylab, inv) in zip(axes, [
("Skull-ring gap mid (mm, median)", gap_mid, "{:.1f}", "mm", True),
("Skull-ring gap std (mm, median)", gap_std, "{:.1f}", "mm", True),
("Registration time (s, median)", regt, "{:.0f}", "s", True),
("Acceptance rate", acc, "{:.2f}", "frac", False),
("Mean Mattes MI: warped-CT ~ MR (nats, median)", mi, "{:.3f}", "nats", False)]):
fig, axes = plt.subplots(1, 2, figsize=(10, 4))
colors = ["#4878CF", "#6ACC65"]
for ax, (title, vals, fmt, ylab) in zip(axes, [
("Registration time (s, median)", regt, "{:.0f}", "s"),
("Mattes MI: warped-CT ~ MR (nats, median)", mi, "{:.3f}", "nats")]):
bars = ax.bar(range(len(vals)), vals, color=colors[:len(vals)])
for b, v in zip(bars, vals):
ax.annotate(fmt.format(v), (b.get_x() + b.get_width() / 2, b.get_height()),
@ -426,10 +416,11 @@ def merge(args):
print_table(rows)
summary = {
"timestamp": datetime.now().isoformat(timespec="seconds"),
"protocol": ("rigid CT->T1c; cross-modality; scored by production skull-ring "
"concentricity (aligned: 0<=mid<=20mm, std<=12mm) + GTV-in-CT fraction "
"(>=0.5); reg time excludes I/O+scoring; per-pipeline best-of-T vs T^-1 "
"orientation gate for elastix/antspyx"),
"protocol": ("rigid CT->T1c; cross-modality; alignment scored by achieved Mattes MI "
"(nats, warped-CT ~ MR over the MR head, higher = better); reg time "
"excludes I/O+scoring; per-case JSON retains the production skull-ring "
"gap / acceptance QA; best-of-T vs T^-1 orientation gate for the "
"elastix-style toolkits"),
"n_cases": next((r["n_cases"] for r in rows if r.get("available")), None),
"case_keys": sorted({c["key"] for r in rows if r.get("available") for c in r.get("cases", [])}),
"results": rows,
@ -440,18 +431,16 @@ def merge(args):
print("summary:", sf)
write_plot(rows, os.path.join(out_dir, "bench_registration.png"))
# markdown table for the report
md = ["| pipeline | available | toolkit | cases | ok | err | accepted | gap mid (mm) | gap std (mm) | s/reg (median) | tv-in-CT | MI (nats) |",
"|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|"]
md = ["| pipeline | available | toolkit | cases | ok | err | s/reg (median) | tv-in-CT | MI (nats, median) |",
"|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|"]
for p in [x["pipeline"] for x in rows]:
r = next(x for x in rows if x["pipeline"] == p)
if not r.get("available"):
md.append(f"| {p} | NO | - | {r['n_cases']} | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | ({r['reason']}) |")
md.append(f"| {p} | NO | - | {r['n_cases']} | 0 | - | - | - | - | ({r['reason']}) |")
continue
md.append(
f"| {p} | yes | {(r.get('toolkit') or '')} | {r['n_cases']} | {r.get('n_registered', 0)} | "
f"{r['n_error']} | {r['accepted_rate']:.2f} | "
f"{(r.get('skull_ring_gap_mid_mm') or {}).get('median')} | "
f"{(r.get('skull_ring_gap_std_mm') or {}).get('median')} | "
f"{r['n_error']} | "
f"{(r.get('reg_wall_s') or {}).get('median')} | "
f"{(r.get('tv_in_ct_frac') or {}).get('mean')} | "
f"{(r.get('mi_ct_mr') or {}).get('median')} |")
@ -492,12 +481,12 @@ def parse_args():
ap.add_argument("--impact-gpu", type=int, default=None,
help="GPU device index for IMPACT (default: auto-spread over "
"the host GPUs by pid; -1 forces CPU)")
ap.add_argument("--impact-iters", type=int, default=500,
help="IMPACT per-resolution max iterations (default 500, the authors' "
"recommended Jacobian budget; lower to trade accuracy for speed)")
ap.add_argument("--impact-samples", type=int, default=2000,
help="IMPACT random spatial samples per iteration (default 2000, "
"the recommended budget)")
ap.add_argument("--impact-iters", type=int, default=2000,
help="IMPACT MaximumNumberOfIterations (default 2000, the benchmark "
"budget; ~10x the authors' 500-iter Jacobian budget, much slower)")
ap.add_argument("--impact-samples", type=int, default=5000,
help="IMPACT NumberOfSpatialSamples per iteration (default 5000, the "
"elastix default)")
ap.add_argument("--qa-images", action="store_true",
help="also write a checkreg-style PNG (checkerboard blend + color "
"overlay of the inverse-warped CT vs the original MR) per case")

View file

@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
"""Five rigid CT -> T1c registration pipelines behind one unified contract.
"""Six rigid CT -> T1c registration pipelines behind one unified contract.
Problem (shared with ``scripts/02_build_m6_dataset.py``)
--------------------------------------------------------
@ -23,34 +23,41 @@ returns (``tr_reg.GetInverse()`` with ``tr_reg = Execute(fixed=CT, moving=T1c)``
Pipelines (listed alphabetically)
---------------------------------
All pipelines use the shared convention **fixed = CT, moving = T1c**, except
IMPACT which keeps **fixed = T1c, moving = CT** (swapping breaks its
TotalSegmentator metric -- see ``register_impact``). A pipeline that is a
local optimizer and cannot recover the gross inter-session offset from
identity (antspyx, impact) starts from a centroid-aligned translation; the
others (simpleitk, elastix, synthmorph) do not require it and start from
identity / their own global search.
All pipelines register on the **full volumes** (no head box) and use each
toolkit's **native automatic transform initialization** (no manual
``centroid_offset``): elastix / impact use elastix's
``AutomaticTransformInitialization`` (CenterOfGravity), antspyx uses its
default center-of-mass alignment, simpleitk starts from identity, niftyreg
(reg_aladin) initializes from the image centres, and synthmorph needs none
(global deep method). All use **fixed = CT, moving = T1c** except IMPACT,
which keeps **fixed = T1c, moving = CT** (swapping breaks its
TotalSegmentator metric -- see ``register_impact``).
- ``register_antspyx`` : ANTs / ANTsPy ``ants.registration`` (Rigid).
Centroid pre-shift of the moving (T1c) image is *required* (ANTs
Rigid-from-identity collapses on the gross offset).
Default ``initial_transform=None`` computes a translation aligning the image
centers of mass.
- ``register_elastix`` : ITK-Elastix Python API (pip ``itk`` +
``itk-elastix``, elastix 5.x: ``EulerTransform`` rigid + Mattes MI, ASGD).
Identity start (the ASGD + multi-resolution pyramid recovers the offset).
``AutomaticTransformInitialization`` (CenterOfGravity) start.
- ``register_impact`` : IMPACT (semantic-similarity metric) inside the
``vboussot/elastix_impact`` Docker image (Elastix 5.2 + a TorchScript
TotalSegmentator feature extractor as a native Elastix metric). Rigid 6-DOF,
GPU (Jacobian mode). Kept as fixed=T1c/moving=CT (see above); centroid init
kept (local ASGD on the semantic metric benefits from the gross alignment).
GPU (Jacobian mode). Kept as fixed=T1c/moving=CT (see above); elastix
``AutomaticTransformInitialization`` (CenterOfGravity) provides the start.
Needs Docker + the image + a model asset.
- ``register_simpleitk`` : SimpleITK ImageRegistrationMethod, Mattes MI on a
CT-space head box. Reuses the *proven* production ``register_ct_to_t1c`` in
- ``register_niftyreg`` : NiftyReg (KCL-BMEIS suite) ``reg_aladin`` --
symmetric block-matching + trimmed least squares (Modat et al., J. Med.
Img. 2014), NCC-based block similarity (cross-modality tolerant). Rigid
6-DOF (``-rigOnly``), 3-level pyramid, 15 TLS iterations/level. Needs
``conda install -c conda-forge niftyreg`` (provides ``reg_aladin``).
- ``register_simpleitk`` : SimpleITK ImageRegistrationMethod, Mattes MI on the
full volumes. Reuses the *proven* production ``register_ct_to_t1c`` in
``mode="production"``; the benchmark mode is a single identity-start
multi-resolution pyramid run.
- ``register_synthmorph`` : FreeSurfer SynthMorph (TensorFlow, pretrained
anatomy-aware contrast-invariant model) inside the ``freesurfer/synthmorph``
Docker image. Rigid 6-DOF matrix model, GPU when available. Global deep
method -- no centroid init. Needs Docker + the pulled image.
method -- no init. Needs Docker + the pulled image.
A toolkit that is not installed (or, for the Docker-based pipelines, missing
its image)
@ -70,6 +77,7 @@ applied to elastix / antspyx / synthmorph / impact, not to the trusted
production SimpleITK path.
"""
import os
import re
import shutil
import subprocess
import importlib.util
@ -157,38 +165,18 @@ def centroid_offset(ct, t1c, ct_box=None):
return (float(t1c_c[0] - c[0]), float(t1c_c[1] - c[1]), float(t1c_c[2] - c[2]))
def _ct_head_box_mm(ct):
"""CT-space head box in physical mm: (box_lo, box_hi) tuples, or None."""
m6 = _load_m6()
ca = sitk.GetArrayFromImage(ct)
tissue = ca > -150
csp, co = np.array(ct.GetSpacing()), np.array(ct.GetOrigin())
vz = m6._ct_vertex_slice(ct)
if vz is None:
return None, None
ztop = co[2] + vz * csp[2]
band = tissue[max(0, vz - int(round(150 / csp[2]))):vz + 1]
cols = np.nonzero(band.any(0))
box_lo = (co[0] + cols[1].min() * csp[0] - 15,
co[1] + cols[0].min() * csp[1] - 15, ztop - 215)
box_hi = (co[0] + cols[1].max() * csp[0] + 15,
co[1] + cols[0].max() * csp[1] + 15, ztop + 10)
return box_lo, box_hi
# --------------------------------------------------------------------------- #
# 2. SimpleITK (production baseline -- reused verbatim)
# --------------------------------------------------------------------------- #
def register_simpleitk(ct, t1c, threads=12, mode="benchmark", iters_full=150):
"""SimpleITK rigid CT->T1c, Mattes MI on a CT-space head box.
def register_simpleitk(ct, t1c, threads=12, mode="benchmark", iters_full=2000):
"""SimpleITK rigid CT->T1c, Mattes MI, full volumes (no head box).
mode="benchmark" (default): a single multi-resolution pyramid run from the
identity start, capped at ``iters_full`` iterations at full resolution.
This is the *standard* SimpleITK algorithm and matches the budget the
other toolkits get in the benchmark (one rigid MI registration), so the
pipelines are compared on equal footing. The pyramid recovers the gross
inter-session offset, so no centroid init is used.
identity start, with ``iters_full`` (=2000) optimizer iterations at every
pyramid level. This is the *standard* SimpleITK algorithm and matches the
2000-iteration budget the other toolkits get in the benchmark, so the
pipelines are compared on equal footing. No centroid init is used.
mode="production": the exact multi-start tilt-grid ``register_ct_to_t1c``
from scripts/02_build_m6_dataset.py (robust to the ~30 deg inter-session
tilt but much slower -- not the default for the benchmark).
@ -215,20 +203,16 @@ def register_simpleitk(ct, t1c, threads=12, mode="benchmark", iters_full=150):
except AttributeError:
pass
ct = sitk.Cast(ct, sitk.sitkFloat32); t1c = sitk.Cast(t1c, sitk.sitkFloat32)
lo, hi = _ct_head_box_mm(ct)
if lo is None:
raise PipelineUnavailable("simpleitk: no CT head box found (corrupt CT?)")
tsp = np.array(t1c.GetSpacing())
shape = tuple(int(np.ceil((hi[i] - lo[i]) / tsp[i])) + 1 for i in range(3))
ref = sitk.GetImageFromArray(np.zeros(shape, np.float32))
ref.SetSpacing(t1c.GetSpacing()); ref.SetDirection(t1c.GetDirection())
ref.SetOrigin(tuple(float(x) for x in lo))
fixed = sitk.Resample(ct, ref, sitk.Transform(), sitk.sitkLinear, 0.0)
moving = sitk.Resample(t1c, ref, sitk.Transform(), sitk.sitkLinear, 0.0)
# Identity start: the multi-resolution Mattes-MI pyramid recovers the gross
# inter-session offset on its own, so no centroid init is required here.
ct_c = np.array([(lo[i] + hi[i]) / 2.0 for i in range(3)])
init = sitk.Euler3DTransform(); init.SetCenter(tuple(float(x) for x in ct_c))
# full volumes, fixed = CT, moving = T1c (no head box)
fixed, moving = ct, t1c
shape = np.array(ct.GetSize())
# Identity start (no centroid init); the multi-resolution Mattes-MI pyramid
# recovers the gross inter-session offset. The Euler center is the fixed
# (CT) geometric center.
init = sitk.Euler3DTransform()
init.SetCenter(tuple(float(x) for x in fixed.TransformIndexToPhysicalPoint(
((fixed.GetSize()[0] - 1) // 2, (fixed.GetSize()[1] - 1) // 2,
(fixed.GetSize()[2] - 1) // 2))))
init.SetParameters((0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0))
import time
t0 = time.time()
@ -250,9 +234,9 @@ def register_simpleitk(ct, t1c, threads=12, mode="benchmark", iters_full=150):
meta = {
"pipeline": "simpleitk", "mode": "benchmark",
"toolkit": f"SimpleITK {sitk.Version_VersionString()}",
"metric": "MattesMutualInformation (head box, CT space)",
"metric": "MattesMutualInformation (full volumes)",
"transform": (f"Rigid (Euler3D, fixed-LR budget, pyramid {sh}, "
f"{iters_full} iters/level)"),
f"{iters_full} iters/level, identity start)"),
"convention": "T1c->CT (benchmark budget)", "auto_inverted": False,
"seconds_reg": round(dt, 1), "pyramid_shrink": sh, "pyramid_smooth": sm,
"skull_ring_gap_mm": gap,
@ -311,34 +295,29 @@ def _itk_transform_to_sitk_rigid(itk_tf):
def register_elastix(ct, t1c, workdir=None, threads=8):
"""ITK-Elastix rigid CT->T1c (fixed=CT, moving=T1c), Mattes MI.
"""ITK-Elastix rigid CT->T1c (fixed=CT, moving=T1c), Mattes MI, full images.
Runs in-process through the ITK-Elastix python API (pip ``itk`` +
``itk-elastix``, elastix 5.x). Rigid 6-DOF via ``EulerTransform`` (the
5.x replacement for ``Rigid3DTransform``) + Mattes MI
(``AdvancedMattesMutualInformation``) + ASGD, 3 resolutions, on the common
CT-space head box, from the identity start (the ASGD + multi-resolution
pyramid recovers the gross inter-session offset, so no centroid init is
required). Elastix 5.x component names: sampler ``Random`` (not
``RandomSampler``), metric key ``Metric`` (not ``ImageMetric``). An output
directory is required for the C++ filter to run, and ``WriteResultImage``
must be the string ``"false"`` (a Python bool False) or the filter raises
"Could not read result image" after a successful registration.
(``AdvancedMattesMutualInformation``) + ASGD, 3 resolutions, on the full
CT / T1c volumes (no head box). No manual centroid init: elastix's
``AutomaticTransformInitialization`` (CenterOfGravity) aligns the intensity
centroids, and ``AutomaticScalesEstimation`` sets the optimizer scales.
Budget: ``MaximumNumberOfIterations`` 2000 per resolution; the sampler /
metric run at their defaults (``NumberOfSpatialSamples`` 5000,
``NumberOfHistogramBins`` 32).
Elastix 5.x
component names: sampler ``Random`` (not ``RandomSampler``), metric key
``Metric`` (not ``ImageMetric``). An output directory is required for the
C++ filter to run, and ``WriteResultImage`` must be the string ``"false"``
(a Python bool False) or the filter raises "Could not read result image"
after a successful registration.
"""
itk = _elastix_api()
lo, hi = _ct_head_box_mm(ct)
if lo is None:
raise PipelineUnavailable("elastix: no CT head box found (corrupt CT?)")
# Resample both into a common CT-space head box (mirrors the other pipelines)
# so MI is computed on head tissue, not neck/air.
tsp = np.array(t1c.GetSpacing())
shape = tuple(int(np.ceil((hi[i] - lo[i]) / tsp[i])) + 1 for i in range(3))
ref = sitk.GetImageFromArray(np.zeros(shape, np.float32))
ref.SetSpacing(t1c.GetSpacing())
ref.SetDirection(t1c.GetDirection())
ref.SetOrigin(tuple(float(x) for x in lo))
fixed = sitk.Resample(ct, ref, sitk.Transform(), sitk.sitkLinear, 0.0) # CT = reference
moving = sitk.Resample(t1c, ref, sitk.Transform(), sitk.sitkLinear, 0.0) # T1c = moving
# full volumes, fixed = CT, moving = T1c (no head box)
fixed = ct
moving = t1c
params = {
"ImageDimension": 3,
"FixedInternalImagePixelType": "float",
@ -348,10 +327,13 @@ def register_elastix(ct, t1c, workdir=None, threads=8):
"FixedCenteredTransform": True,
"TransformParameterReadoutFormat": 1,
"HowToCombineTransforms": "Compose",
"AutomaticTransformInitialization": True,
"AutomaticTransformInitializationMethod": "CenterOfGravity",
"AutomaticScalesEstimation": True,
"Optimizer": "AdaptiveStochasticGradientDescent",
"MaximumNumberOfIterations": [500, 500, 250],
"MaximumNumberOfIterations": [2000, 2000, 2000],
"Metric": "AdvancedMattesMutualInformation",
"NumberOfHistogramBins": 10,
"NumberOfHistogramBins": 32,
"ImageSampler": "Random",
"ImageSamplerPatchSize": [25, 25, 25],
"WriteResultImage": False,
@ -388,8 +370,8 @@ def register_elastix(ct, t1c, workdir=None, threads=8):
version = "ITK-Elastix (python API)"
meta = {
"pipeline": "elastix", "toolkit": version,
"metric": "MattesMutualInformation (head box, CT space)",
"transform": "Rigid (EulerTransform, ASGD, 3 resolutions, identity start)",
"metric": "MattesMutualInformation (full volumes)",
"transform": "Rigid (EulerTransform, ASGD, 3 resolutions, auto center init)",
"convention": "T1c->CT (verified)", "auto_inverted": inverted,
"fixed": "CT", "moving": "T1c", "seconds_reg": round(dt, 1),
}
@ -402,18 +384,16 @@ def register_elastix(ct, t1c, workdir=None, threads=8):
def register_antspyx(ct, t1c, transform_type="Rigid", aff_iterations=None,
aff_shrink_factors=None, aff_smoothing_sigmas=None,
aff_metric="mattes", use_head_box=True, center_init=True):
"""ANTs rigid CT->T1c via antspyx (fixed=CT, moving=T1c).
aff_metric="mattes"):
"""ANTs rigid CT->T1c via antspyx (fixed=CT, moving=T1c), full volumes.
antspyx 0.6.3: ``ants.registration(fixed, moving, type_of_transform='Rigid',
aff_metric='mattes', aff_iterations=..., aff_shrink_factors=...,
aff_smoothing_sigmas=...)``. ``aff_metric='mattes'`` (the default) gives a
multi-resolution Mattes-MI rigid registration -- the cross-modality metric
this CT/MR pair needs. To keep the benchmark tractable and consistent with
the other pipelines (and to avoid neck/air in the metric), both images are
first resampled into the same CT-space head box. ANTs Rigid-from-identity
does NOT recover the gross inter-session offset, so a centroid pre-shift of
the moving (T1c) image is required (see ``center_init``). Returns the
this CT/MR pair needs. Registers on the full CT / T1c volumes (no head box).
No manual centroid init: antspyx's default ``initial_transform=None``
computes a translation that aligns the image centers of mass. Returns the
transform that warps CT into the T1c grid (orientation verified by
:func:`fix_orientation`).
"""
@ -428,36 +408,12 @@ def register_antspyx(ct, t1c, transform_type="Rigid", aff_iterations=None,
aff_iterations = tuple(aff_iterations) if aff_iterations else (500, 500, 200)
aff_shrink_factors = tuple(aff_shrink_factors) if aff_shrink_factors else (4, 2, 1)
aff_smoothing_sigmas = tuple(aff_smoothing_sigmas) if aff_smoothing_sigmas else (3, 2, 0)
if use_head_box:
lo, hi = _ct_head_box_mm(ct)
if lo is None:
raise PipelineUnavailable("antspyx: no CT head box found (corrupt CT?)")
tsp = np.array(t1c.GetSpacing())
shape = tuple(int(np.ceil((hi[i] - lo[i]) / tsp[i])) + 1 for i in range(3))
ref = sitk.GetImageFromArray(np.zeros(shape, np.float32))
ref.SetSpacing(t1c.GetSpacing()); ref.SetDirection(t1c.GetDirection())
ref.SetOrigin(tuple(float(x) for x in lo))
fx = sitk.Resample(ct, ref, sitk.Transform(), sitk.sitkLinear, 0.0) # CT box (fixed)
mv = sitk.Resample(t1c, ref, sitk.Transform(), sitk.sitkLinear, 0.0) # T1c box (moving)
else:
# full volumes, fixed = CT, moving = T1c (no head box)
fx, mv = ct, t1c
import time
t0 = time.time()
# Centered start (REQUIRED for ANTs): antspyx cannot use a
# TranslationTransform as initial_transform (the ANTs CLI rejects it), and
# Rigid-from-identity does not recover the large (~100-130 mm) inter-session
# offset -- without this init ANTs collapses on 8/9 cases. So we pre-shift the
# T1c (moving) box so its head centroid coincides with the CT (fixed) head
# centroid, run Rigid from identity, then compose the shift + inverse back so
# the result is expressed in the original T1c/CT coordinates.
off = None
if center_init:
off = centroid_offset(ct, t1c, ct_box=fx)
if off is not None:
# shift the T1c content by -off (head c_t1c -> c_ct): resample with +off
tr_off = sitk.TranslationTransform(3)
tr_off.SetOffset((off[0], off[1], off[2]))
mv = sitk.Resample(mv, mv, tr_off, sitk.sitkLinear, 0.0)
# No manual centroid init: antspyx's default initial_transform=None computes
# a translation aligning the image centers of mass.
af = ants.from_sitk(sitk.Cast(fx, sitk.sitkFloat32))
am = ants.from_sitk(sitk.Cast(mv, sitk.sitkFloat32))
r = ants.registration(fixed=af, moving=am, type_of_transform=transform_type,
@ -466,20 +422,15 @@ def register_antspyx(ct, t1c, transform_type="Rigid", aff_iterations=None,
aff_smoothing_sigmas=aff_smoothing_sigmas)
dt = time.time() - t0
# r['fwdtransforms'][0] is the ANTs forward transform: fixed(CT) -> moving
# (pre-shifted T1c). We need the contract T1c(orig) -> CT: map T1c(orig) to
# the pre-shifted T1c (translation by -off), then invert the ANTs transform.
# (T1c). The contract is T1c -> CT, i.e. its inverse; fix_orientation
# verifies the direction against the skull ring.
T_ants = sitk.ReadTransform(r["fwdtransforms"][0])
if off is not None:
tr_shift = sitk.TranslationTransform(3)
tr_shift.SetOffset((-off[0], -off[1], -off[2])) # T1c orig -> pre
cand = sitk.CompositeTransform([tr_shift, T_ants.GetInverse()])
else:
cand = T_ants.GetInverse()
T, inverted = fix_orientation(ct, t1c, cand)
meta = {
"pipeline": "antspyx", "toolkit": f"ANTsPy {getattr(ants, '__version__', '?')}",
"metric": f"ANTs {aff_metric} (multi-resolution)",
"transform": f"ANTs {transform_type} (head box)", "convention": "T1c->CT (verified)",
"metric": f"ANTs {aff_metric} (multi-resolution, full volumes)",
"transform": f"ANTs {transform_type} (auto COM init)", "convention": "T1c->CT (verified)",
"auto_inverted": inverted, "aff_iterations": list(aff_iterations),
"aff_shrink_factors": list(aff_shrink_factors), "seconds_reg": round(dt, 1),
}
@ -740,12 +691,18 @@ def _impact_param_map(model_cont_path, gpu, iters, samples, voxel_sizes,
"(ImpactFeaturesMapUpdateInterval -1)",
'(ImpactWriteFeatureMaps "false")',
"",
"// rigid 6-DOF to be optimized (the shared centered start comes via -t0)",
"// rigid 6-DOF to be optimized (auto center init, no -t0)",
'(Transform "EulerTransform")',
'(TransformBase "ElastixTransformBase")',
'(TransformParameterReadoutFormat "AllParametersOneLine")',
'(FixedCenteredTransform "true")',
'(HowToCombineTransforms "Compose")',
'(AutomaticTransformInitialization "true")',
# align intensity centroids (heads), not buffer corners -- the CT FOV is
# much larger than the T1c crop, so GeometricalCenter leaves the heads
# ~100 mm apart and the metric aborts ("too many samples outside buffer")
'(AutomaticTransformInitializationMethod "CenterOfGravity")',
'(AutomaticScalesEstimation "true")',
"",
"(ImageDimension 3)",
'(FixedInternalImagePixelType "float")',
@ -788,19 +745,12 @@ def _impact_param_map(model_cont_path, gpu, iters, samples, voxel_sizes,
return "\n".join(L) + "\n"
def register_impact(ct, t1c, model=None, gpu=None, iters=500, samples=2000,
def register_impact(ct, t1c, model=None, gpu=None, iters=2000, samples=5000,
threads=12, keep_scratch=False, scales=(6.0, 3.0, 1.5, 1.0),
downsample=False):
"""IMPACT rigid CT->T1c (fixed=T1c, moving=CT) in the Docker image
``vboussot/elastix_impact`` (Elastix 5.2.0 + IMPACT semantic metric).
NOTE on the fixed/moving convention: every other pipeline here uses
fixed=CT, moving=T1c. IMPACT is the exception -- swapping its fixed/moving
to CT/T1c breaks the TotalSegmentator-based semantic metric (elastix aborts
with "Error in metric" or converges to a wrong rotation), so IMPACT keeps
the working MRI-as-fixed (T1c) / CT-as-moving convention. The returned
transform still satisfies the unified contract (T1c->CT).
IMPACT (arXiv:2503.24121) replaces the intensity metric with a *semantic*
one: a TorchScript TotalSegmentator model (``TS/M730.pt`` by default) is run
on randomly sampled patches of the fixed and moving images and the
@ -809,21 +759,26 @@ def register_impact(ct, t1c, model=None, gpu=None, iters=500, samples=2000,
the Mattes-MI pipelines above -- it is the cross-modality tool the image was
built for.
To stay on the benchmark's equal footing the pipeline:
- registers on the same CT-space head box (both images resampled into it),
- starts from the *shared* centroid-aligned translation (passed to Elastix
as a fixed initial transform via ``-t0``; with ``HowToCombineTransforms
Compose`` the final transform = ``T_main(T_init(p))``),
- uses a rigid 6-DOF ``EulerTransform`` (the 5.x name for the classic
3D rigid), ASGD, a 4-level scale pyramid (no image resampling).
Budget: the default ``iters=500`` / ``samples=2000`` is the authors'
recommended Jacobian budget. It is *much* slower than the intensity-metric
pipelines (minutes per case on GPU vs seconds) because every iteration runs
the TotalSegmentator feature extractor on the sampled patches with
backpropagation. Lower ``iters``/``samples`` to trade accuracy for speed.
The pipeline registers on the full CT / T1c volumes (no head box) with no
manual centroid init: elastix's ``AutomaticTransformInitialization``
(CenterOfGravity) aligns the intensity centroids. It uses a rigid 6-DOF
``EulerTransform`` (the 5.x name for the classic 3D rigid), ASGD, a 4-level
scale pyramid (no image resampling).
NOTE: IMPACT keeps **fixed=T1c, moving=CT** (the reverse of the other
pipelines). The CT FOV (~300x300x251 mm) is much larger than the T1c crop
(~220x220x150 mm); with CT as the fixed image, too many CT samples map
outside the T1c buffer and the IMPACT metric aborts ("too many samples map
outside moving image buffer"). The returned transform still satisfies the
unified contract (T1c->CT).
Budget: the default ``iters=2000`` (MaximumNumberOfIterations) /
``samples=5000`` (NumberOfSpatialSamples, the elastix default) runs the
full benchmark budget for best results -- roughly 10x the authors'
500/2000 Jacobian budget, i.e. hours per case on full volumes. Lower
``iters``/``samples`` to trade accuracy for speed.
The result is read back from ``TransformParameters.0.itk.txt``
(an ``Euler3DTransform`` in the box/world physical frame) and composed with
the ``-t0`` translation, then checked by :func:`fix_orientation`.
(an ``Euler3DTransform`` in the world physical frame) and checked by
:func:`fix_orientation`.
Preconditions (else :class:`PipelineUnavailable`): the ``docker`` CLI, the
``vboussot/elastix_impact`` image, and the model asset under the cache. A
@ -837,25 +792,13 @@ def register_impact(ct, t1c, model=None, gpu=None, iters=500, samples=2000,
raise PipelineUnavailable(f"impact: {note}")
model_host, model_rel = _impact_model_host(model)
lo, hi = _ct_head_box_mm(ct)
if lo is None:
raise PipelineUnavailable("impact: no CT head box found (corrupt CT?)")
# resample both into the shared CT-space head box (mirrors the other pipelines)
tsp = np.array(t1c.GetSpacing())
shape = tuple(int(np.ceil((hi[i] - lo[i]) / tsp[i])) + 1 for i in range(3))
ref = sitk.GetImageFromArray(np.zeros(shape, np.float32))
ref.SetSpacing(t1c.GetSpacing())
ref.SetDirection(t1c.GetDirection())
ref.SetOrigin(tuple(float(x) for x in lo))
fixed = sitk.Resample(t1c, ref, sitk.Transform(), sitk.sitkLinear, 0.0) # T1c = reference
moving = sitk.Resample(ct, ref, sitk.Transform(), sitk.sitkLinear, 0.0) # CT = moving
# shared centered start (REQUIRED: the local ASGD optimizer does not recover
# the gross offset from identity). Elastix maps fixed(CT)->moving(T1c), the
# same direction as centroid_offset, so no negation.
off = centroid_offset(ct, t1c, ct_box=moving) or (0.0, 0.0, 0.0)
init = (-float(off[0]), -float(off[1]), -float(off[2]))
# full volumes, fixed = T1c, moving = CT (no head box, no manual init --
# elastix's AutomaticTransformInitialization aligns the image centers).
# T1c must be the fixed image: the CT FOV (~300x300x251 mm) is much larger
# than the T1c crop (~220x220x150 mm), so with CT fixed, too many CT samples
# map outside the T1c buffer and the IMPACT metric aborts.
fixed = t1c
moving = ct
# GPU: auto-spread across the host GPUs by pid, or forced value
if gpu is None:
@ -901,13 +844,6 @@ def register_impact(ct, t1c, model=None, gpu=None, iters=500, samples=2000,
f.write(_impact_param_map(os.path.join("/Data/Models", model_rel),
gpu, iters, samples, voxel_sizes,
rescale=schedule, smoothing=smoothe))
with open(os.path.join(datadir, "InitialTransform.txt"), "w") as f:
f.write(
'(Transform "TranslationTransform")\n'
'(TransformBase "ElastixTransformBase")\n'
'(TransformParameterReadoutFormat "AllParametersOneLine")\n'
"(NumberOfParameters 3)\n"
f"(TransformParameters {init[0]:g} {init[1]:g} {init[2]:g})\n")
cmd = ["docker", "run", "--rm"]
if gpu >= 0:
@ -919,7 +855,6 @@ def register_impact(ct, t1c, model=None, gpu=None, iters=500, samples=2000,
IMPACT_IMAGE, IMPACT_ELASTIX_BIN,
"-f", "/Data/Fixed_image.mha", "-m", "/Data/Moving_image.mha",
"-p", "/Data/ParameterMap.txt",
"-t0", "/Data/InitialTransform.txt",
"-out", "/Out/", "-threads", str(threads),
]
t0 = time.time()
@ -934,14 +869,12 @@ def register_impact(ct, t1c, model=None, gpu=None, iters=500, samples=2000,
tail = "\n".join((proc.stdout + proc.stderr).splitlines()[-25:])
raise RuntimeError(f"impact: no TransformParameters.0.itk.txt produced:\n{tail}")
# the optimized Euler (box/world frame) composed with the fixed -t0
# translation: T = T_euler(T_init(p)). Both map fixed(CT)->moving(T1c),
# i.e. the inverse of the contract (T1c->CT); fix_orientation resolves it.
# the optimized Euler (world frame) is the full combination transform
# (AutomaticTransformInitialization is folded in by elastix); it maps
# fixed(CT) -> moving(T1c), the inverse of the contract (T1c->CT);
# fix_orientation resolves the direction.
T_main = sitk.ReadTransform(itk_tf)
T_init = sitk.TranslationTransform(3)
T_init.SetOffset(init)
cand = sitk.CompositeTransform([T_init, T_main])
T, inverted = fix_orientation(ct, t1c, cand)
T, inverted = fix_orientation(ct, t1c, T_main)
finally:
if not keep_scratch:
shutil.rmtree(tmp, ignore_errors=True)
@ -950,7 +883,7 @@ def register_impact(ct, t1c, model=None, gpu=None, iters=500, samples=2000,
"pipeline": "impact",
"toolkit": f"Docker {IMPACT_IMAGE} (Elastix 5.2.0 + IMPACT)",
"metric": f"IMPACT semantic (TotalSegmentator {os.path.basename(model_rel)}, L2, Jacobian)",
"transform": (f"Rigid (EulerTransform, ASGD, {n} scales, centroid init; "
"transform": (f"Rigid (EulerTransform, ASGD, {n} scales, auto center init; "
f"device={'GPU' + str(gpu) if gpu >= 0 else 'CPU'})"),
"convention": "T1c->CT (verified)", "auto_inverted": inverted,
"fixed": "T1c", "moving": "CT",
@ -963,10 +896,128 @@ def register_impact(ct, t1c, model=None, gpu=None, iters=500, samples=2000,
return T, meta
# --------------------------------------------------------------------------- #
# 6. NiftyReg (KCL-BMEIS suite, reg_aladin)
# --------------------------------------------------------------------------- #
def _niftyreg_bin():
"""Locate reg_aladin (NiftyReg) on PATH or raise PipelineUnavailable."""
b = shutil.which("reg_aladin")
if b:
return b
raise PipelineUnavailable(
"niftyreg: reg_aladin not found on PATH. Install NiftyReg with "
"`conda install -c conda-forge niftyreg` (NiftyReg 1.5.69, the "
"KCL-BMEIS suite: reg_aladin rigid/affine + reg_f3d non-linear) and "
"re-run in the activated env.")
def _niftyreg_version(binpath):
try:
r = subprocess.run([binpath, "--version"], capture_output=True,
text=True, timeout=60)
m = re.search(r"(\d+\.\d+\.\d+)", r.stdout + r.stderr)
if m:
return f"NiftyReg {m.group(1)} (reg_aladin)"
except Exception: # noqa
pass
return "NiftyReg (reg_aladin)"
def _parse_niftyreg_affine(path):
"""Parse reg_aladin's output affine (4x4, row-major) into a SimpleITK
AffineTransform. The file is *documented* as
``Affine * Reference = Floating``; the direction that actually satisfies
the contract is verified empirically by :func:`fix_orientation` (on the
M6 cases the gate keeps the file's affine as-is)."""
M = np.array([float(x) for x in open(path).read().split()]).reshape(4, 4)
T = sitk.AffineTransform(3)
T.SetMatrix(M[:3, :3].ravel())
T.SetTranslation(M[:3, 3])
return T
def register_niftyreg(ct, t1c, threads=24, levels=3, maxit=15, keep_scratch=False):
"""NiftyReg rigid CT->T1c (reference=CT, floating=T1c) via ``reg_aladin``.
reg_aladin (Modat et al., J. Med. Img. 1(2) 024003, 2014) is a global
block-matching registration: at each level of a ``levels``-level Gaussian
pyramid it matches 4-voxel blocks by normalised cross-correlation
(NCC -- a cross-modality-tolerant block similarity, unlike the histogram
MI objectives of the other pipelines), then solves a trimmed least squares
(TLS) problem for the rigid transform, iterating ``maxit`` times per
level. The symmetric variant (default) optimises forward and backward
transforms concurrently; ``-maxit 5`` (the tool default) is too coarse for
these repositioned pairs -- the benchmark uses 15.
Full volumes (no head box); default initialisation (image centres);
``-rigOnly`` for the 6-DOF rigid contract; ``-interp 3`` (cubic) internal
warping. The output affine is documented as ``Affine * Reference =
Floating``; :func:`fix_orientation` resolves the direction that actually
satisfies the contract against the skull ring (on the M6 cases it keeps
the file's affine as-is, ``auto_inverted: False``) and returns the T1c ->
CT transform.
Preconditions (else :class:`PipelineUnavailable`): ``reg_aladin`` on PATH
(``conda install -c conda-forge niftyreg``).
"""
import time
binpath = _niftyreg_bin()
# full volumes, reference = CT, floating = T1c (no head box)
tmp = tempfile.mkdtemp(prefix="niftyreg_reg_")
dt = 0.0
try:
sitk.WriteImage(sitk.Cast(ct, sitk.sitkFloat32),
os.path.join(tmp, "ref.nii.gz"), True)
sitk.WriteImage(sitk.Cast(t1c, sitk.sitkFloat32),
os.path.join(tmp, "flo.nii.gz"), True)
cmd = [binpath, "-ref", "ref.nii.gz", "-flo", "flo.nii.gz",
"-rigOnly", "-aff", "aff.txt",
"-ln", str(levels), "-maxit", str(maxit),
"-interp", "3", "-omp", str(threads), "-voff"]
t0 = time.time()
proc = subprocess.run(cmd, capture_output=True, text=True,
cwd=tmp, timeout=7200)
dt = time.time() - t0
if proc.returncode != 0:
tail = "\n".join((proc.stdout + proc.stderr).splitlines()[-25:])
raise RuntimeError(f"niftyreg: reg_aladin failed (rc={proc.returncode}):\n{tail}")
aff = os.path.join(tmp, "aff.txt")
if not os.path.exists(aff):
tail = "\n".join((proc.stdout + proc.stderr).splitlines()[-25:])
raise RuntimeError(f"niftyreg: no affine output produced:\n{tail}")
T = _parse_niftyreg_affine(aff)
# aff.txt is documented as CT -> T1c (Affine*Reference=Floating);
# the contract is T1c -> CT. fix_orientation resolves the direction
# empirically (on these cases it keeps the file's affine as-is).
T, inverted = fix_orientation(ct, t1c, T)
finally:
if not keep_scratch:
shutil.rmtree(tmp, ignore_errors=True)
meta = {
"pipeline": "niftyreg",
"toolkit": _niftyreg_version(binpath),
"metric": "NCC block matching + trimmed least squares (symmetric, full volumes)",
"transform": (f"Rigid (reg_aladin -rigOnly, {levels}-level pyramid, "
f"{maxit} TLS iters/level, cubic interp)"),
"convention": "T1c->CT (verified)", "auto_inverted": inverted,
"fixed": "CT", "moving": "T1c",
"seconds_reg": round(dt, 1),
"levels": levels, "maxit": maxit,
}
if keep_scratch:
meta["scratch"] = tmp
return T, meta
REGISTERS = {
"antspyx": register_antspyx,
"elastix": register_elastix,
"impact": register_impact,
"niftyreg": register_niftyreg,
"simpleitk": register_simpleitk,
"synthmorph": register_synthmorph,
}
@ -994,6 +1045,13 @@ def availability():
out[name] = (True, f"ants importable v{getattr(ants, '__version__', '?')}")
except Exception as e: # noqa
out[name] = (False, f"ants(antspyx) not importable ({type(e).__name__})")
elif name == "niftyreg":
b = shutil.which("reg_aladin")
if b:
out[name] = (True, _niftyreg_version(b))
else:
out[name] = (False, "reg_aladin not on PATH "
"(conda install -c conda-forge niftyreg)")
elif name == "synthmorph":
ok, note = _synthmorph_docker_ok()
if not ok: