Interactive image segmentation using probabilistic hypergraphs

This paper introduces a novel interactive framework for segmenting images using probabilistic hypergraphs which model the spatial and appearance relations among image pixels. The probabilistic hypergraph provides us a means to pose image segmentation as a machine learning problem. In particular, we assume that a small set 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 by learning on a hypergraph via minimizing a quadratic smoothness term formed by a hypergraph Laplacian matrix subject to the known label constraints. We derive a natural probabilistic interpretation of this smoothness term, and provide a detailed discussion on the relation of our method to other hypergraph and graph based learning methods. We also present a front-to-end image segmentation system based on the proposed method, which is shown to achieve promising quantitative and qualitative results on the commonly used GrabCut dataset.     

Retinal vessel segmentation using a probabilistic tracking method

Vessel structures such as retinal vasculature are important features for computer-aided diagnosis. In this paper, a probabilistic tracking method is proposed to detect blood vessels in retinal images. During the tracking process, vessel edge points are detected iteratively using local grey level statistics and vessel's continuity properties. At a given step, a statistic sampling scheme is adopted to select a number of vessel edge points candidates in a local studying area. Local vessel's sectional intensity profiles are estimated by a Gaussian shaped curve. A Bayesian method with the Maximum a posteriori (MAP) probability criterion is then used to identify local vessel's structure and find out the edge points from these candidates. Evaluation is performed on both simulated vascular and real retinal images. Different geometric shapes and noise levels are used for computer simulated images, whereas real retinal images from the REVIEW database are tested. Evaluation performance is done using the Segmentation Matching Factor (SMF) as a quality parameter. Our approach performed better when comparing it with Sun's and Chaudhuri's methods. ROC curves are also plotted, showing effective detection of retinal blood vessels (true positive rate) with less false detection (false positive rate) than Sun's method.     

A method for liver segmentation in perfusion MR images using probabilistic atlases and viscous reconstruction

Magnetic resonance (MR) tomographic images are routinely used in diagnosis of liver pathologies. Liver segmentation is needed for these types of images. It is therefore an important requirement for later tasks such as comparison among studies of different patients, as well as studies of the same patient (including those taken during the diffusion of a contrast, as in perfusion MR imaging). However, automatic segmentation of the liver is a challenging task due to certain reasons such as the high variability of liver shapes, similar intensity values and unclear contours between the liver and surrounding organs, especially in perfusion MR images. In order to overcome these limitations, this work proposes the use of a probabilistic atlas for liver segmentation in perfusion MR images, and the combination of the information gathered with that provided by level-based segmentation methods. The process starts with an under-segmented shape that grows slice by slice using morphological techniques (namely, viscous reconstruction); the result of the closest segmented slice and the probabilistic information provided by the atlas. Experiments with a collection of manually segmented liver images are provided, including numerical evaluation using widely accepted metrics for shape comparison.     

基于残差双注意力U-Net模型的CT图像囊肿肾脏自动分割

人体肾脏存在形状的多样性和解剖学的复杂性,囊肿病变也会导致肾脏形状发生大幅变化。为应对CT图像囊肿肾脏自动分割存在的诸多挑战,提出一种新型深度分割网络模型。该模型设计有带残差连接的双注意力模块,在残差结构的基础上,联合空间注意力和通道注意力机制自适应学习更加有效的特征表达。依据U-Net架构,以残差双注意力模块为基础模块构建编码器和解码器,设置层级间的跳跃连接,使网络能够更加关注肾脏区域特征,有效应对肾脏的形状变化。为了验证所提模型的有效性,从医院共采集79位肾囊肿患者的CT图像进行训练和测试,实验结果表明该模型能够准确分割CT图像切片中的肾脏区域,且各项分割指标优于多个经典分割网络模型。     

Automated freehand sketch segmentation using radial basis functions

Freehand sketching is widely regarded as an efficient and natural way for interaction between computers and humans. We present a robust computerized scheme to automatically segment freehand sketches into a series of components with specific geometric meaning regardless of whether these are generated online or offline. This task is a necessary first step toward sketch understanding. By exploiting the interpolation/extrapolation characteristic of radial basis functions (RBFs), a greedy algorithm consisting of forward and backward operations is proposed for finding the minimum set of segmentation points that can be used to reconstruct with high fitting accuracy freehand sketches in the form of implicit functions. To obtain segmentation points, a simple angle-based rule is used to remove “bridging” points that provide a smooth transition between consecutive sketch components. Feasibility of the proposed algorithm is demonstrated by a preliminary performance assessment study using ten computer generated drawings. These experiments show that in this dataset sensitivity of the segmentation was higher than 97.5% with a false positive (FP) rate of approximately 25%. The majority of false positive identifications are located on arc regions where a larger number of segmentation points are needed for reconstruction purposes. The primary contribution of this algorithm is that it transforms an ambiguous problem, namely, freehand sketch segmentation, into an implicit function fitting operation. Therefore, this proposed approach has several advantages, including independence of the actual sketching activity, and the ability for a satisfactory detection of the transition point between a line and an arc or between two arcs.     

Survey on liver CT image segmentation methods

The segmentation of liver using computed tomography (CT) data has gained a lot of importance in the medical image processing field. In this paper, we present a survey on liver segmentation methods and techniques using CT images, recent methods presented in the literature to obtain liver segmentation are viewed. Generally, liver segmentation methods are divided into two main classes, semi-automatic and fully automatic methods, under each of these two categories, several methods, approaches, related issues and problems will be defined and explained. The evaluation measurements and scoring for the liver segmentation are shown, followed by the comparative study for liver segmentation methods, pros and cons of methods will be accentuated carefully. In this paper, we concluded that automatic liver segmentation using CT images is still an open problem since various weaknesses and drawbacks of the proposed methods can still be addressed.     

Automated music video generation using multi-level feature-based segmentation

We show how to create a music video automatically, using computable characteristics of the video and music to promote coherent matching. We analyze the flow of both music and video, and then segment them into sequences of near-uniform flow. We extract features from the both video and music segments, and then find matching pairs. The granularity of the matching process can be adapted by extending the segmentation process to several levels. Our approach drastically reduces the skill required to make simple music videos.

Change detection by probabilistic segmentation from monocular view

We present a method for foreground/background video segmentation (change detection) in real-time that can be used, in applications such as background subtraction or analysis of surveillance cameras. Our approach implements a probabilistic segmentation based on the Quadratic Markov Measure Field models. This framework regularizes the likelihood of each pixel belonging to each one of the classes (background or foreground). We propose a new likelihood that takes into account two cases: the first one is when the background is static and the foreground might be static or moving (Static Background Subtraction), the second one is when the background is unstable and the foreground is moving (Unstable Background Subtraction). Moreover, our likelihood is robust to illumination changes, cast shadows and camouflage situations. We implement a parallel version of our algorithm in CUDA using a NVIDIA Graphics Processing Unit in order to fulfill real-time execution requirements.     

Multi-orientation geometric medical volumes segmentation using 3D multiresolution analysis

Multimedia Tools and Applications - Medical images have a very significant impact in the diagnosing and treating process of patient ailments and radiology applications. For many reasons, processing...     

一种新的肝肿瘤CT图像分割方法

传统的分割方法难以实现医学图像准确地分割,提出了基于最大信息熵原理的医学图像分割方法。该方法集成了阈值分割、边界跟踪和数学形态学,提高了分割的精度和速度。分析和实验结果表明,采用该方法对肝肿瘤CT图像进行分割时,能自动准确地提取出医生感兴趣的区域。     

改进的B-Snake模型肝脏CT图像分割算法

肝脏模型的个性化是肝脏虚拟手术系统中的一个关键技术,而肝脏模型的个性化又是以肝脏CT图像的三维分割为前提的。针对B-Snake模型的特点,提出一种结合区域填充的改进B-Snake模型图像分割算法。将相邻的上一张切片的分割结果映射到当前切片上,根据一定的规则进行区域填充,并将填充后的结果与前一张切片的分割结果按一定的算法进行比较,进一步优化。得到的初始轮廓很接近肝脏的真实边界,而且大部分曲线已在边界上,将其作为改进的B-Snake模型算法的初始轮廓,只需对其进行部分控制点的优化调整,就可得到准确的分割结果。以此类推,直到处理完所有切片图。实验表明,该算法能有效提高分割的准确度,获得较满意的分割结果。     

基于RandomWalk算法的CT图像肺实质自动分割

针对复杂情况下肺实质的分割问题,提出了一种基于Random Walk算法对肺实质自动分割的方法。首先,根据胸部组织解剖学及其计算机断层扫描(CT)图像的影像学特征,在肺实质及其周围组织分别确定目标区域种子点和背景种子点位置;然后,使用Random Walk算法对CT图像进行分割,提取近似肺区域的掩模;接下来,对掩模实施数学形态学运算,来进一步调整目标区域种子点和背景种子点的标定位置,使其适合具体的复杂情况;最后,再次使用Random Walk算法分割图像,得到最终的肺实质分割结果。实验结果显示,该方法与金标准的平均绝对距离为0.44±0.13 mm,重合率(DC)为99.21%±0.38%。与其他分割方法相比,该方法在分割精度上得到了显著提高。结果表明,提出的方法能够解决复杂情况下肺实质分割的问题,确保了分割的完整性、准确性、实时性和鲁棒性,分割结果和时间均可满足临床需求。     

Automated generation of contrapuntal musical compositions using probabilistic logic in Derive

In this work, we present a new application developed in Derive 6 to compose counterpoint for a given melody (“cantus firmus”). The result is non-deterministic, so different counterpoints can be generated for a fixed melody, all of them obeying classical rules of counterpoint. In the case where the counterpoint cannot be generated in a first step, backtracking techniques have been implemented in order to improve the likelihood of obtaining a result. The contrapuntal rules are specified in Derive using probabilistic rules of a probabilistic logic, and the result can be generated for both voices (above and below) of first species counterpoint.     

Automated brain tumor segmentation on multi-modal MR image using SegNet

Computational Visual Media - The potential of improving disease detection and treatment planning comes with accurate and fully automatic algorithms for brain tumor segmentation. Glioma, a type of...     

Automated atlas-based segmentation of NISSL-stained mouse brain sections using supervised learning

The problem of segmentation of mouse brain images into anatomical structures is an important stage of practically every analytical procedure for these images. The present study suggests a new approach to automated segmentation of anatomical structures in the images of NISSL-stained histological sections of mouse brain. The segmentation algorithm is based on the method of supervised learning using the existing anatomical labeling of the corresponding sections from a specialized mouse brain atlas. A mouse brain section to be segmented into anatomical structures is preliminarily associated with a section from the mouse brain atlas displaying the maximum similarity. The image of this section is then preprocessed in order to enhance its quality and to make it as close to the corresponding atlas image as possible. An efficient algorithm of luminance equalization, an extension of the well-known Retinex algorithm is proposed. A random forest is trained on pixel feature vectors constructed based on the atlas section images and the corresponding class labels associated with anatomical structures extracted from the atlas anatomical labeling. The trained classifier is then applied to classify pixels of an experimental section into anatomical structures. A new combination of features based on superpixels and location priors is suggested. Accuracy of the obtained result is increased by using Markov random field. Procedures of luminance equalization and subsequent segmentation into anatomical structures have been tested on real experimental sections.     

Non-globular domains in protein sequences: Automated segmentation using complexity measures

Computational methods based on mathematically-defined measures of compositional complexity have been developed to distinguish globular and non-globular regions of protein sequences. Compact globular structures in protein molecules are shown to be determined by amino acid sequences of high informational complexity. Sequences of known crystal structure in the Brookhaven Protein Data Bank differ only slightly from randomly shuffled sequences in the distribution of statistical properties such as local compositional complexity. In contrast, in the much larger body of deduced sequences in the SWISS-PROT database, approximately one quarter of the residues occur in segments of non-randomly low complexity and approximately half of the entries contain at least one such segment. Sequences of proteins with known, physicochemically-defined non-globular regions have been analyzed, including collagens, different classes of coiled-coil proteins, elastins, histones, non-histone proteins, mucins, proteoglycan core proteins and proteins containing long single solvent-exposed alpha-helices. The SEG algorithm provides an effective general method for partitioning the globular and non-globular regions of these sequences fully automatically. This method is also facilitating the discovery of new classes of long, non-globular sequence segments, as illustrated by the example of the human CAN gene product involved in tumor induction.     

基于全卷积神经网络的肝脏CT影像分割研究

针对腹部CT影像邻近器官对比度较低及因个体肝脏形状差异较大等引起肝脏分割困难的问题,提出了全卷积神经网络肝脏分割模型。首先通过卷积神经网络提取图像深层、抽象的特征,再通过反卷积运算对提取到的特征映射进行插值重构后得到分割结果。由于单纯进行反卷积得到的分割结果往往比较粗糙,因此,在反卷积之前,先融合高层与低层的特征,并且通过增加反卷积的层数、减少反卷积步长,得到了更为精确的分割结果。与传统卷积神经网络的分割方法相比,该模型可以充分利用CT影像的空间信息。实验数据表明该模型能够使腹部CT影像肝脏分割具有较高的精度。     

A teacher-student framework for liver and tumor segmentation under mixed supervision from abdominal CT scans

Neural Computing and Applications - Liver and tumor segmentation from abdominal CT scans and an important step towards computer-assisted diagnosis or treatment planning for various hepatic...     

基于胸部CT图象的肺区自动分割

肺区自动分割是肺部肿瘤计算机辅助诊断系统的关键之一。文章采用多阈值和区域生长方法,先去掉背景,再去掉气管/支气管,最后对提取出来的肺区使用滚球的方法进行修补。该方法速度快、人工干预少、准确。