# Localizing the Recurrent Laryngeal Nerve via Ultrasound with a Bayesian Shape Framework

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2206.15254 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2206.15254/

## Key facts

- No citing papers in the map yet (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 10 of its 21 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 30 Jun 2022.

## Builds on (most cited first, 10 of 10)

- [Deep Residual Learning for Image Recognition](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1512.03385/) (2015)
- [U-Net: Convolutional Networks for Biomedical Image Segmentation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1505.04597/) (2015)
- [Swin Transformer: Hierarchical Vision Transformer using Shifted Windows](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2103.14030/) (2021)
- [A ConvNet for the 2020s](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2201.03545/) (2022)
- [Pyramid Scene Parsing Network](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1612.01105/) (2016)
- [Instance Normalization: The Missing Ingredient for Fast Stylization](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1607.08022/) (2016)
- [Empirical Evaluation of Rectified Activations in Convolutional Network](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1505.00853/) (2015)
- [Panoptic-DeepLab](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1910.04751/) (2019)
- [Recurrent Instance Segmentation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1511.08250/) (2015)
- [Hybrid Deep Neural Network for Brachial Plexus Nerve Segmentation in Ultrasound Images](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2106.00373/) (2021)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Tumor infiltration of the recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) is a contraindication for robotic thyroidectomy and can be difficult to detect via standard laryngoscopy. Ultrasound (US) is a viable alternative for RLN detection due to its safety and ability to provide real-time feedback. However, the tininess of the RLN, with a diameter typically less than 3mm, poses significant challenges to the accurate localization of the RLN. In this work, we propose a knowledge-driven framework for RLN localization, mimicking the standard approach surgeons take to identify the RLN according to its surrounding organs. We construct a prior anatomical model based on the inherent relative spatial relationships between organs. Through Bayesian shape alignment (BSA), we obtain the candidate coordinates of the center of a region of interest (ROI) that encloses the RLN. The ROI allows a decreased field of view for determining the refined centroid of the RLN using a dual-path identification network, based on multi-scale semantic information. Experimental results indicate that the proposed method achieves superior hit rates and substantially smaller distance errors compared with state-of-the-art methods.