# Cascaded multitask U-Net using topological loss for vessel segmentation and centerline extraction

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2307.11603 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2307.11603/

## Key facts

- Cited by 4 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 6 of its 21 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 21 Jul 2023.

## Builds on (most cited first, 6 of 6)

- [U-Net: Convolutional Networks for Biomedical Image Segmentation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1505.04597/) (2015)
- [Deep Learning for Medical Image Analysis](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1708.08987/) (2017)
- [clDice -- A Novel Topology-Preserving Loss Function for Tubular Structure Segmentation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2003.07311/) (2020)
- [DeepVesselNet: Vessel Segmentation, Centerline Prediction, and Bifurcation Detection in 3-D Angiographic Volumes](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1803.09340/) (2018)
- [Vessel-CAPTCHA: an efficient learning framework for vessel annotation and segmentation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2101.09321/) (2021)
- [Cerebrovascular Network Segmentation on MRA Images with Deep Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1812.01752/) (2018)

## Built on by (most cited first, 4 of 4)

- [Skeleton Recall Loss for Connectivity Conserving and Resource Efficient Segmentation of Thin Tubular Structures](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2404.03010/) (2024)
- [Deep vessel segmentation based on a new combination of vesselness filters](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2402.14509/) (2024)
- [TopoMortar: A dataset to evaluate image segmentation methods focused on topology accuracy](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2503.03365/) (2025)
- [Robust Curve Detection in Volumetric Medical Imaging via Attraction Field](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2408.01159/) (2024)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Vessel segmentation and centerline extraction are two crucial preliminary tasks for many computer-aided diagnosis tools dealing with vascular diseases. Recently, deep-learning based methods have been widely applied to these tasks. However, classic deep-learning approaches struggle to capture the complex geometry and specific topology of vascular networks, which is of the utmost importance in most applications. To overcome these limitations, the clDice loss, a topological loss that focuses on the vessel centerlines, has been recently proposed. This loss requires computing, with a proposed soft-skeleton algorithm, the skeletons of both the ground truth and the predicted segmentation. However, the soft-skeleton algorithm provides suboptimal results on 3D images, which makes the clDice hardly suitable on 3D images. In this paper, we propose to replace the soft-skeleton algorithm by a U-Net which computes the vascular skeleton directly from the segmentation. We show that our method provides more accurate skeletons than the soft-skeleton algorithm. We then build upon this network a cascaded U-Net trained with the clDice loss to embed topological constraints during the segmentation. The resulting model is able to predict both the vessel segmentation and centerlines with a more accurate topology.