An automatic segmentation method for moving objects based on the spatial-temporal information of video

The new MPEG-4 video coding standard enables content-based functions. In order to support the new standard, frames should be decomposed into Video Object Planes （VOP）, each VOP representing a moving object. This paper proposes an image segmentation method to separate moving objects from image sequences. The proposed method utilizes the spatial-temporal information. Spatial segmentation is applied to divide each image into connected areas and to find pre~：ise object boundaries of moving objects. To locate moving objects in image sequences, two consecutive image frames in the temporal direction are examined and a hypothesis testing is performed with Neyman-Pearson criterion. Spatial segmentation produces a spatial segmentation mask, and temporal segmentation yields a change detection mask that indicates moving objects and the background. Then spatial-temporal merging can be used to get the final results. This method has been tested on several images. Experimental results show that this segmentation method is efficient.     

A Nonconservative Flow Field for Robust Variational Image Segmentation

We introduce a robust image segmentation method based on a variational formulation using edge flow vectors. We demonstrate the nonconservative nature of this flow field, a feature that helps in a better segmentation of objects with concavities. A multiscale version of this method is developed and is shown to improve the localization of the object boundaries. We compare and contrast the proposed method with well known state-of-the-art methods. Detailed experimental results are provided on both synthetic and natural images that demonstrate that the proposed approach is quite competitive.      

Region-based image coding using polynomial intensity functions

The vast majority of coded images are real-world images. These images consist of distinct objects within a scene, where each object has its own reflective, textural and lighting characteristics. Region-based image coding encodes these images by partitioning the scene into objects, and then describing each object's characteristics using a set of parameters. The paper uses orthonormal polynomial functions to describe the lighting and reflective characteristics of each object. The coefficients of these polynomials are coded with linear quantisers that have their decision boundaries spaced according to rate-distortion considerations. The textural component of each object is coded using vector quantisation of the autocorrelation coefficients of the residual. The partitioning of the image into distinct objects is achieved with a segmentation algorithm which attempts to maximise the rate-distortion performance of the encoding procedure as a whole. In doing so, the segmentation algorithm partitions the image into distinct objects as well as providing estimates for the optimal bit allocations among the polynomial coefficients. Results generated by this method show reconstructions with quality superior to other region-based methods, both objectively and subjectively     

An integrated region-, boundary-, shape-based active contour for multiple object overlap resolution in histological imagery

Active contours and active shape models (ASM) have been widely employed in image segmentation. A major limitation of active contours, however, is in their 1) inability to resolve boundaries of intersecting objects and to 2) handle occlusion. Multiple overlapping objects are typically segmented out as a single object. On the other hand, ASMs are limited by point correspondence issues since object landmarks need to be identified across multiple objects for initial object alignment. ASMs are also are constrained in that they can usually only segment a single object in an image. In this paper, we present a novel synergistic boundary and region-based active contour model that incorporates shape priors in a level set formulation with automated initialization based on watershed. We demonstrate an application of these synergistic active contour models using multiple level sets to segment nuclear and glandular structures on digitized histopathology images of breast and prostate biopsy specimens. Unlike previous related approaches, our model is able to resolve object overlap and separate occluded boundaries of multiple objects simultaneously. The energy functional of the active contour is comprised of three terms. The first term is the prior shape term, modeled on the object of interest, thereby constraining the deformation achievable by the active contour. The second term, a boundary-based term detects object boundaries from image gradients. The third term drives the shape prior and the contour towards the object boundary based on region statistics. The results of qualitative and quantitative evaluation on 100 prostate and 14 breast cancer histology images for the task of detecting and segmenting nuclei and lymphocytes reveals that the model easily outperforms two state of the art segmentation schemes (geodesic active contour and Rousson shape-based model) and on average is able to resolve up to 91% of overlapping/occluded structures in the images.     

Medical image segmentation using analysis of isolable-contour maps

A common challenge for automated segmentation techniques is differentiation between images of close objects that have similar intensities, whose boundaries are often blurred due to partial-volume effects. We propose a novel approach to segmentation of two-dimensional images, which addresses this challenge. Our method, which we call intrinsic shape for segmentation (ISeg), analyzes isolabel-contour maps to identify coherent regions that correspond to major objects. ISeg generates an isolabel-contour map for an image by multilevel thresholding with a fine partition of the intensity range. ISeg detects object boundaries by comparing the shape of neighboring isolabel contours from the map. ISeg requires only little effort from users; it does not require construction of shape models of target objects. In a formal validation with computed-tomography angiography data, we showed that ISeg was more robust than conventional thresholding, and that ISeg's results were comparable to results of manual tracing.     

Background removal of multiview images by learning shape priors.

Image-based rendering has been successfully used to display 3-D objects for many applications. A well-known example is the object movie, which is an image-based 3-D object composed of a collection of 2-D images taken from many different viewpoints of a 3-D object. In order to integrate image-based 3-D objects into a chosen scene (e.g., a panorama), one has to meet a hard challenge--to efficiently and effectively remove the background from the foreground object. This problem is referred to as multiview images (MVIs) segmentation. Another task requires MVI segmentation is image-based 3-D reconstruction using multiview images. In this paper, we propose a new method for segmenting MVI, which integrates some useful algorithms, including the well-known graph-cut image segmentation and volumetric graph-cut. The main idea is to incorporate the shape prior into the image segmentation process. The shape prior introduced into every image of the MVI is extracted from the 3-D model reconstructed by using the volumetric graph cuts algorithm. Here, the constraint obtained from the discrete medial axis is adopted to improve the reconstruction algorithm. The proposed MVI segmentation process requires only a small amount of user intervention, which is to select a subset of acceptable segmentations of the MVI after the initial segmentation process. According to our experiments, the proposed method can provide not only good MVI segmentation, but also provide acceptable 3-D reconstructed models for certain less-demanding applications.     

一种适合于目标检测的图像分割方法

在航空图像的目标检测过程中，首先需要把图像中的每个目标都单独地分离开。一般的图像分割方法是把图像分成几大类，同一类目标组成一个个区域。这种分割结果给目标检测造成了很大的困难。本文首先采用最小值滤波对图像进行预处理，尽量地扩大目标之间的间隙。然后用降低分辨率的方法得到初始的分割图像，并用分裂合并法修正分割结果。计算结果显示，分割结果中不同的目标尽管距离很近，也能较好地分离。这个结果对于目标检测有着重要的意义。     

基于Chan-Vese模型的树形结构多相水平集图像分割算法

由于Chan-Vese(C-V)模型通过单个水平集的符号将待分割图像划分为目标和背景两个部分,所以当图像的多个目标的轮廓成多连接时,C-V模型将无法表示.为了解决C-V模型在表示目标轮廓上的局限,提出了基于C-V模型的树形结构多相水平集算法.关键策略是通过改变图像背景,使得水平集在新图像上重新收敛;核心技术是依据同时明度对比提出的背景填充技术;算法流程采用多水平集串行收敛方式实现多相分割(n-1次收敛可以实现n相分割,n＞1).实验结果表明,本算法可以表示复杂的区域连接情况(n相分割最多可以表示n连接情况),能够实现多目标分割(n相分割可以实现n-1个目标分割),特别适合于目标中含有子目标的图像.     

红外图像显著目标检测算法

提出一种简单快速的红外图像显著目标检测算法,算法可以分为三步:首先,对原始红外图像进行预处理以增强目标与背景的对比度;然后,在log频谱中提取预处理后图像的频谱残差,通过相应的反变换及简单的阈值分割,可以得到显著目标的大致区域;最后,采用一个滑动窗口在目标候选区域内进行搜索确定显著目标的准确位置,这个过程采用由目标及其周围区域在原始图像中的灰度分布得到的半局部特征对比度的概率表达得到每个像素点的显著性值,进行阈值分割得到显著目标,改变滑动窗口的大小可以检测出不同尺度的目标。采用大量的红外图像对算法进行测试,实验结果表明该算法具有高效性和鲁棒性。     

Fast segmentation of porcelain images based on texture features

This study aims to segment objects within images of porcelain artifacts to help users retrieve the images in an efficient and convenient manner. Through digital archiving, a tremendous number of porcelain images have been created. To avoid interference due to the image’s background during the retrieval process, it is necessary to segment objects in advance to accommodate high-precision image retrieval. In the proposed segmentation process, four texture features, including coarseness, contrast, directionality, and gradient, are first obtained. The morphological processing, which involves PCA (principal component analysis), Otsu’s method, and object filter for opening and closing operation, is applied. Finally, regarding the objects selected by object filter, boundary extraction and watershed segmentation are performed to segment the porcelain objects from the background. In our image segmentation experiment using images of Chinese porcelain from various dynasties, featuring various shapes and colors, complete and accurate segmentation results are produced. The results can be used as a reference for future identification of the era to which the artifacts belong, and also to lay a foundation for future development of porcelain image retrieval techniques as a benefit to academic research.     

一种基于相对模糊连通度的交互式序列图像快速分割算法

在基于相对模糊连通度的交互式图像分割方法的基础上提出了一种序列图像分割的快速算法。对于单幅图像,新算法在保持分割精度的同时,运行速度提高了3倍。作为该算法的扩展,一方面将原算法中单目标分割推广到多目标分割,另一方面将单帧图像的分割推广到序列图像的分割,实现了复杂背景下多目标的图像分割和图像序列的批处理分割。并进行了分割结果的后处理,提取出目标的单像素宽度的光滑边缘。用人造图像和实际的医学图像和图像序列所做的测试实验取得了令人满意的分割结果。     

基于扩散方程和MRF的SAR图像分割

该文提出了一种基于图像扩散方程和马尔科夫随机场(MRF)的合成孔径雷达(SAR)图像分割方法。在传统MRF算法的基础之中,引入对图像的扩散,用来平滑SAR图像中的噪声,保护图像中的边缘部分,并且加快收敛的速度。首先对输入的SAR图像进行扩散,通过MRF进行统计,得到图像中各点的后验概率,再对得到的后验概率进行扩散。与传统的MRF算法进行比较,该文的方法较好地去除了误分割斑块,减少算法的运行时间。     

Combining static and dynamic features using neural networks and edge fusion for video object extraction

Semantic object representation is an important step for digital multimedia applications such as object-based coding, content-based access and manipulations. The authors propose an image sequence segmentation scheme which provides region information for the semantic object representation of those applications. The objective is to develop a hardware-friendly segmentation algorithm by combining static and dynamic features simultaneously in one scheme. In the initial stage, a multiple feature space is transformed to one-dimensional label space by using self-organising feature map (SOFM) neural networks. The next stage is an edge fusion process in which edge information is incorporated into the neural network outputs to generate more precisely located boundaries of segmentation. The proposed algorithm differs from existing methods as follows: it can segment textured images with low-dimensional features; leads to more meaningful segmentation region boundaries; and is easier to map into hardware than existing methods. Experimental results are compared with an existing segmentation method using evaluation metrics to clarify the advantages of the proposed algorithm objectively.     

一种新的用于医学图像分割的几何活动轮廊模型

提出一种新的几何活动轮廊模型对医学图像进行分割．首先，我们对几何活动轮廊模型中吸引力场进行正则化，扩大目标轮廊边缘对的轮廊曲线的吸引力范围，增加轮廊曲线搜寻凹轮廊的能力．然后，采用多尺度模型增加对边缘提取的精确度．将正则化方法与多尺度方法相结合，能够很好的抑制医学图像中的噪声和虚假边缘的干扰，这一方法能够在不采用任何附加拓扑控制的情况下自动控制轮廊曲线的拓扑结构变化，同时提取多个解剖结构，对来自不同成像技术的医学图像的分割，结果表明该方法是一种有效的医学图像分割方法。     

Interactive image segmentation using Dirichlet process multiple-view learning

Segmenting semantically meaningful whole objects from images is a challenging problem, and it becomes especially so without higher level common sense reasoning. In this paper, we present an interactive segmentation framework that integrates image appearance and boundary constraints in a principled way to address this problem. In particular, we assume that small sets of pixels, which are referred to as seed pixels, are labeled as the object and background. The seed pixels are used to estimate the labels of the unlabeled pixels using Dirichlet process multiple-view learning, which leverages 1) multiple-view learning that integrates appearance and boundary constraints and 2) Dirichlet process mixture-based nonlinear classification that simultaneously models image features and discriminates between the object and background classes. With the proposed learning and inference algorithms, our segmentation framework is experimentally shown to produce both quantitatively and qualitatively promising results on a standard dataset of images. In particular, our proposed framework is able to segment whole objects from images given insufficient seeds.     

Tracking monotonically advancing boundaries in image sequences using graph cuts and recursive kernel shape priors

We introduce a probabilistic computer vision technique to track monotonically advancing boundaries of objects within image sequences. Our method incorporates a novel technique for including statistical prior shape information into graph-cut based segmentation, with the aid of a majorization-minimization algorithm. Extension of segmentation from single images to image sequences then follows naturally using sequential Bayesian estimation. Our methodology is applied to two unrelated sets of real biomedical imaging data, and a set of synthetic images. Our results are shown to be superior to manual segmentation.     

Volume rendering of segmented image objects

This paper describes a new method of combining ray-casting with segmentation. Volume rendering is performed at interactive rates on personal computers, and visualizations include both "superficial" ray-casting through a shell at each object's surface and "deep" ray-casting through the confines of each object. A feature of the approach is the option to smoothly and interactively dilate segmentation boundaries along all axes. This ability, when combined with selective "turning off" of extraneous image objects, can help clinicians detect and evaluate segmentation errors that may affect surgical planning. We describe both a method optimized for displaying tubular objects and a more general method applicable to objects of arbitrary geometry. In both cases, select three-dimensional points are projected onto a modified z buffer that records additional information about the projected objects. A subsequent step selectively volume renders only through the object volumes indicated by the z buffer. We describe how our approach differs from other reported methods for combining segmentation with ray-casting, and illustrate how our method can be useful in helping to detect segmentation errors.     

Detection and Segmentation of Concealed Objects in Terahertz Images

Terahertz imaging makes it possible to acquire images of objects concealed underneath clothing by measuring the radiometric temperatures of different objects on a human subject. The goal of this work is to automatically detect and segment concealed objects in broadband 0.1–1 THz images. Due to the inherent physical properties of passive terahertz imaging and associated hardware, images have poor contrast and low signal to noise ratio. Standard segmentation algorithms are unable to segment or detect concealed objects. Our approach relies on two stages. First, we remove the noise from the image using the anisotropic diffusion algorithm. We then detect the boundaries of the concealed objects. We use a mixture of Gaussian densities to model the distribution of the temperature inside the image. We then evolve curves along the isocontours of the image to identify the concealed objects. We have compared our approach with two state-of-the-art segmentation methods. Both methods fail to identify the concealed objects, while our method accurately detected the objects. In addition, our approach was more accurate than a state-of-the-art supervised image segmentation algorithm that required that the concealed objects be already identified. Our approach is completely unsupervised and could work in real-time on dedicated hardware.