Atlas-based fuzzy connectedness segmentation and intensity nonuniformity correction applied to brain MRI

A framework that combines atlas registration, fuzzy connectedness (FC) segmentation, and parametric bias field correction (PABIC) is proposed for the automatic segmentation of brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). First, the atlas is registered onto the MRI to initialize the following FC segmentation. Original techniques are proposed to estimate necessary initial parameters of FC segmentation. Further, the result of the FC segmentation is utilized to initialize a following PABIC algorithm. Finally, we re-apply the FC technique on the PABIC corrected MRI to get the final segmentation. Thus, we avoid expert human intervention and provide a fully automatic method for brain MRI segmentation. Experiments on both simulated and real MRI images demonstrate the validity of the method, as well as the limitation of the method. Being a fully automatic method, it is expected to find wide applications, such as three-dimensional visualization, radiation therapy planning, and medical database construction     

Gradient based evolution strategy for parametric illumination correction

An enhancement of the parametric bias field correction (PABIC) algorithm is proposed, including fitness function gradient information in the definition of the mutation operator. For evaluation purposes this algorithm, the PABIC and a conventional evolution strategy are applied over a set of synthetic images. The performance measure is the correlation between the recovered images and the originals.     

基于参数化互信息的脑MR图像分割与偏移场矫正模型及快速算法

脑核磁共振(Magnetic Resonance简称MR)图像中存在灰度不均匀现象使得传统方法很难得到理想的分割与偏移场矫正结果.针对这一问题,本文首先提出Legendre基函数拟合偏移场下的参数化互信息度量,建立脑MR图像的分割与偏移场矫正的变分模型.最后,给出了基于分裂Bregman迭代方法的快速分割与偏移场矫正算...     

Automated model-based bias field correction of MR images of the brain

We propose a model-based method for fully automated bias field correction of MR brain images. The MR signal is modeled as a realization of a random process with a parametric probability distribution that is corrupted by a smooth polynomial inhomogeneity or bias field. The method we propose applies an iterative expectation-maximization (EM) strategy that interleaves pixel classification with estimation of class distribution and bias field parameters, improving the likelihood of the model parameters at each iteration. The algorithm, which can handle multichannel data and slice-by-slice constant intensity offsets, is initialized with information from a digital brain atlas about the a priori expected location of tissue classes. This allows full automation of the method without need for user interaction, yielding more objective and reproducible results. We have validated the bias correction algorithm on simulated data and we illustrate its performance on various MR images with important field inhomogeneities. We also relate the proposed algorithm to other bias correction algorithms.     

Multi-threshold algorithm about image segmentation based on polynomial uniform approximation

Aiming at those shortcomings of previous multi-threshold image segmentation algorithm such as large complexity and instability caused by the image histogram glitch interference,a new multi-threshold image segmentation algorithm was proposed using Bernstein polynomial to uniformly approximate histogram curve.First,according to the approximation theory of Weierstrass to construct Bernstein polynomial for the histogram curve,then more difficult peak value calculating of the histogram was reduced to the Bernstein polynomial extremal generating,that was exported easily by the first and second derivative of Bernstein polynomial function,and finally obtain the actual peak value of the image histogram by picking up these extremes and polar values and filtering through classification algorithm,and finish multi-threshold image segmentation.Experimental results show that the algorithm is insensitive for histogram glitch interference,the overall is stable,the redundant computation and time complexity are smaller,with less time and high efficiency,the approximate performance and segmentation effect are better.     

Three-dimensional PET emission scan registration and transmissionscan synthesis

The duration of a positron emission tomography (PET) imaging scan can be reduced if the transmission scan of one patient which is used for emission correction can be synthesized by using the reference transmission scan of another patient. In this paper, we propose a new intersubjects PET emission scan registration method and PET transmission synthesis method by using the boundary information of the body or brain scan of the PET emission scans. The PET emission scans have poor image quality and different intensity statistics so that we preprocess the emission scans to have a similar histogram and then apply the point distribution model (PDM) to extract the contours of the emission scan. The extracted boundary contour of every slice is used to reconstruct the three-dimensional (3-D) surface of the reference set and the target set. Our registration is 3-D surface-based which uses the normal flow method to find the correspondence vector field between two 3-D reconstructed surfaces. Since it is difficult to analyze internal organs using PET emission scan imaging without correction, we assume that the deformation of internal organ is homogeneous. With the corresponding vector field between the two emission scans and the transmission scan of the reference set, we can synthesize the transmission scan of the target set     

A stochastic model for studying the laminar structure of cortex from MRI

The human cerebral cortex is a laminar structure about 3 mm thick, and is easily visualized with current magnetic resonance (MR) technology. The thickness of the cortex varies locally by region, and is likely to be influenced by such factors as development, disease and aging. Thus, accurate measurements of local cortical thickness are likely to be of interest to other researchers. We develop a parametric stochastic model relating the laminar structure of local regions of the cerebral cortex to MR image data. Parameters of the model include local thickness, and statistics describing white, gray and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) image intensity values as a function of the normal distance from the center of a voxel to a local coordinate system anchored at the gray/white matter interface. Our fundamental data object, the intensity-distance histogram (IDH), is a two-dimensional (2-D) generalization of the conventional 1-D image intensity histogram, which indexes voxels not only by their intensity value, but also by their normal distance to the gray/white interface. We model the IDH empirically as a marked Poisson process with marking process a Gaussian random field model of image intensity indexed against normal distance. In this paper, we relate the parameters of the IDH model to the local geometry of the cortex. A maximum-likelihood framework estimates the parameters of the model from the data. Here, we show estimates of these parameters for 10 volumes in the posterior cingulate, and 6 volumes in the anterior and posterior banks of the central sulcus. The accuracy of the estimates is quantified via Cramer-Rao bounds. We believe that this relatively crude model can be extended in a straightforward fashion to other biologically and theoretically interesting problems such as segmentation, surface area estimation, and estimating the thickness distribution in a variety of biologically relevant contexts.     

Brain MR image segmentation based on local Gaussian mixture model and nonlocal spatial regularization

Brain Magnetic Resonance (MR) images often suffer from the inhomogeneous intensities caused by the bias field and heavy noise. The most widely used image segmentation algorithms, which typically rely on the homogeneity of image intensities in different regions, often fail to provide accurate segmentation results due to the existence of bias field and heavy noise. This paper proposes a novel variational approach for brain image segmentation with simultaneous bias correction. We define an energy functional with a local data fitting term and a nonlocal spatial regularization term. The local data fitting term is based on the idea of local Gaussian mixture model (LGMM), which locally models the distribution of each tissue by a linear combination of Gaussian function. By the LGMM, the bias field function in an additive form is embedded to the energy functional, which is helpful for eliminating the influence of the intensity inhomogeneity. For reducing the influence of noise and getting a smooth segmentation, the nonlocal spatial regularization is drawn upon, which is good at preserving fine structures in brain images. Experiments performed on simulated as well as real MR brain data and comparisons with other related methods are given to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.     

激光雷达距离像背景抑制算法研究

相干激光成像雷达距离像处理的一个重要内容就是进行背景抑制。利用原始强度像的均值信息进行距离像的背景抑制因为强度像受到噪声影响而效果不佳，改进算法加入了强度像的噪声滤除，大大提高了背景抑制能力。但是这种利用强度像均值的背景抑制算法要求目标区占有较大的面积，对于小目标图像其抑制效果变差。分析了强度像的直方图特征，提出了一种熵阈值分割抑制距离像背景算法，此算法将强度像的直方图划分为描述目标区像素和背景像素的两个概率分布．而将使这些概率分布熵最大的灰度值作为分割阈值。将此算法应用于实际图像处理，结果表明对于大目标图像和小目标图像都有较好的抑制效果。     

Simultaneous vector-valued image segmentation and intensity nonuniformity correction using variational level set combined with Markov random field modeling

Object quantification requires an image segmentation to make measurements about size, material composition and morphology of the object. In vector-valued or multispectral images, each image channel has its signal characteristics and provides special information that may improve the results of image segmentation method. This paper presents a region-based active contour model for vector-valued image segmentation with a variational level set formulation. In this model, the local image intensities are characterized using Gaussian distributions with different means and variances. Furthermore, by utilizing Markov random field, the spatial correlation between neighboring pixels and voxels is modeled. With incorporation of intensity nonuniformity model, our method is able to deal with brain tissue segmentation from multispectral magnetic resonance (MR) images. Our experiments on synthetic images and multispectral cerebral MR images with different noise and bias level show the advantages of the proposed method.     

Accurate template-based correction of brain MRI intensity distortion with application to dementia and aging

This paper examines an alternative approach to separating magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) intensity inhomogeneity from underlying tissue-intensity structure using a direct template-based paradigm. This permits the explicit spatial modeling of subtle intensity variations present in normal anatomy which may confound common retrospective correction techniques using criteria derived from a global intensity model. A fine-scale entropy driven spatial normalisation procedure is employed to map intensity distorted MR images to a tissue reference template. This allows a direct estimation of the relative bias field between template and subject MR images, from the ratio of their low-pass filtered intensity values. A tissue template for an aging individual is constructed and used to correct distortion in a set of data acquired as part of a study on dementia. A careful validation based on manual segmentation and correction of nine datasets with a range of anatomies and distortion levels is carried out. This reveals a consistent improvement in the removal of global intensity variation in terms of the agreement with a global manual bias estimate, and in the reduction in the coefficient of intensity variation in manually delineated regions of white matter.     

基于统计模型组的Markov SAR图像分割

该文首先介绍SAR图像分割的概念,分析了其地物数据的统计特性,在此基础上利用多种模型构成的统计模型组来匹配大幅SAR图像中各类地物的直方图分布,给出了衡量实际地物直方图和假设已知模型匹配程度的检验统计量,以此来选取最优的统计模型组;并提出了基于统计模型组的Markov随机场的SAR图像分割算法,利用Radarsat的实测数据验证了算法的有效性,给出了性能评估结果,并与其它分割方法做了比较。     

A robust hybrid active contour model based on pre-fitting bias field correction for fast image segmentation

An array of existing active contour models is prone to suffering from the deficiencies of poor anti-noise ability, initialization sensitivity, and slow convergence. In order to handle these problems, a robust hybrid active contour method based on bias correction is proposed in this research paper The energy functional is formulated through incorporating the adaptive edge indicator function and level set formulation driven by bias field correction. The adaptive edge indicator function, which is formulated based on image gradient information, is utilized to detect object boundaries and accelerate the segmentation in the homogeneous region. The level set formulation is constructed based on an improved criterion function, in which bias field information is considered. Specifically, the bias field distribution is approximated through the local mean gray value algorithm as a prior. Moreover, a new regularized function is proposed so as to maintain the stability of curve evolution. The segmentation process is implemented by the optimized energy function and the novel regularized term. Compared to previous active contour models, the modified active contour method can yield more precise, stable, and efficient segmentation results on some challenging images.     

一种基于多特征的距离正则化水平集快速分割方法

现有的图像分割模型存在对初始化信息敏感,分割速率慢,图像弱边界区的泄露等现象.提出了一种混合快速分割方法.该方法利用偏压场近似估计图像的局部统计信息,并结合全局信息相容性及改进的距离正则化方法建立模型,最后将模型嵌入水平集框架中,与此同时,引入双重终止准则以提高分割的速度.最后利用合成图像和真实图像进行分割实验,并与CV（Chan-Vese）模型、非线性自适应水平集方法以及局部尺度拟合模型对比,表明本方法不仅对初始化信息敏感度降低,而且分割速度提高3~5倍.     

Mixture models with adaptive spatial regularization for segmentation with an application to FMRI data

Mixture models are often used in the statistical segmentation of medical images. For example, they can be used for the segmentation of structural images into different matter types or of functional statistical parametric maps (SPMs) into activations and nonactivations. Nonspatial mixture models segment using models of just the histogram of intensity values. Spatial mixture models have also been developed which augment this histogram information with spatial regularization using Markov random fields. However, these techniques have control parameters, such as the strength of spatial regularization, which need to be tuned heuristically to particular datasets. We present a novel spatial mixture model within a fully Bayesian framework with the ability to perform fully adaptive spatial regularization using Markov random fields. This means that the amount of spatial regularization does not have to be tuned heuristically but is adaptively determined from the data. We examine the behavior of this model when applied to artificial data with different spatial characteristics, and to functional magnetic resonance imaging SPMs.     

Segmentation of ultrasound B-mode images with intensity inhomogeneity correction

Displayed ultrasound (US) B-mode images often exhibit tissue intensity inhomogeneities dominated by nonuniform beam attenuation within the body. This is a major problem for intensity-based, automatic segmentation of video-intensity images because conventional threshold-based or intensity-statistic-based approaches do not work well in the presence of such image distortions. Time gain compensation (TGC) is typically used in standard US machines in an attempt to overcome this. However this compensation method is position-dependent which means that different tissues in the same TGC time-range (or corresponding depth range) will be, incorrectly, compensated by the same amount. Compensation should really be tissue-type dependent but automating this step is difficult. The main contribution of this paper is to develop a method for simultaneous estimation of video-intensity inhomogeities and segmentation of US image tissue regions. The method uses a combination of the maximum a posteriori (MAP) and Markov random field (MRF) methods to estimate the US image distortion field assuming it follows a multiplicative model while at the same time labeling image regions based on the corrected intensity statistics. The MAP step is used to estimate the intensity model parameters while the MRF step provides a novel way of incorporating the distributions of image tissue classes as a spatial smoothness constraint. We explain how this multiplicative model can be related to the ultrasonic physics of image formation to justify our approach. Experiments are presented on synthetic images and a gelatin phantom to evaluate quantitatively the accuracy of the method. We also discuss qualitatively the application of the method to clinical breast and cardiac US images. Limitations of the method and potential clinical applications are outlined in the conclusion.     

Method to correct intensity inhomogeneity in MR images for atherosclerosis characterization

We are developing methods to characterize atherosclerotic disease in human carotid arteries using multiple MR images having different contrast mechanisms (T1W, T2W, PDW). To enable the use of voxel gray values for interpretation of disease, we created a new method, local entropy minimization with a bicubic spline model (LEMS), to correct the severe (approximately 80%) intensity inhomogeneity that arises from the surface coil array. This entropy-based method does not require classification and robustly addresses some problems that are more severe than those found in brain imaging, including noise, steep bias field, sensitivity of artery wall voxels to edge artifacts, and signal voids near the artery wall. Validation studies were performed on a synthetic digital phantom with realistic intensity inhomogeneity, a physical phantom roughly mimicking the neck, and patient carotid artery images. We compared LEMS to a modified fuzzy c-means segmentation based method (mAFCM), and a linear filtering method (LINF). Following LEMS correction, skeletal muscles in patient images were relatively isointense across the field of view. In the physical phantom, LEMS reduced the variation in the image to 1.9% and across the vessel wall region to 2.5%, a value which should be sufficient to distinguish plaque tissue types, based on literature measurements. In conclusion, we believe that the correction method shows promise for aiding human and computerized tissue classification from MR signal intensities.     

Quantitative characterization of electron micrograph image usingfractal feature

In this investigation, texture analysis was carried out on electron micrograph images. Fractal dimensions and spatial grey level co-occurrence matrices statistics were estimated on each homogeneous region of interest, The fractal model has the advantages that the fractal dimension correlates to the roughness of the surface and is stable over transformations of scale and linear transforms of intensity. It can be calculated using three different methods. The first method estimates fractal dimension based on the average intensity difference of pixel pairs. In the second method, fractal dimension is determined from the Fourier transformed domain. Finally, fractal dimension can be estimated using reticular cell counting approach. Moreover, automatic image segmentation was performed using fractal dimensions, spatial grey level co-occurrence matrices statistics, and grey level thresholding. Each image was segmented into a number of regions corresponding to distinctly different morphologies: heterochromatin, euchromatin, and background. Fractal dimensions and spatial grey level co-occurrence matrices statistics were found to be able to characterize and segment electron micrograph images