基于C-V模型的红外图像自动分割方法研究

为解决红外图像分割中背景噪声及边界轮廓的影响,引入了基于曲线演化理论、水平集方法和M-S分割函数的C-V模型。通过将图像表达为分段常量函数来建立适当的能量函数模型,引入水平集的表示方法,在整个图像域中依据最小化分割寻找全局极小值,可令活动轮廓最终到达目标边缘。由MATLAB实现的仿真结果表明采用C-V模型对红外图像进行自动分割不受边界轮廓线连续性限制,对初始轮廓线位置不敏感,对图像噪声具有很强的鲁棒性,对均匀灰度目标分割效果良好。     

Active contours without edges

We propose a new model for active contours to detect objects in a given image, based on techniques of curve evolution, Mumford-Shah (1989) functional for segmentation and level sets. Our model can detect objects whose boundaries are not necessarily defined by the gradient. We minimize an energy which can be seen as a particular case of the minimal partition problem. In the level set formulation, the problem becomes a "mean-curvature flow"-like evolving the active contour, which will stop on the desired boundary. However, the stopping term does not depend on the gradient of the image, as in the classical active contour models, but is instead related to a particular segmentation of the image. We give a numerical algorithm using finite differences. Finally, we present various experimental results and in particular some examples for which the classical snakes methods based on the gradient are not applicable. Also, the initial curve can be anywhere in the image, and interior contours are automatically detected.     

Global regularizing flows with topology preservation for active contours and polygons.

Active contour and active polygon models have been used widely for image segmentation. In some applications, the topology of the object(s) to be detected from an image is known a priori, despite a complex unknown geometry, and it is important that the active contour or polygon maintain the desired topology. In this work, we construct a novel geometric flow that can be added to image-based evolutions of active contours and polygons in order to preserve the topology of the initial contour or polygon. We emphasize that, unlike other methods for topology preservation, the proposed geometric flow continually adjusts the geometry of the original evolution in a gradual and graceful manner so as to prevent a topology change long before the curve or polygon becomes close to topology change. The flow also serves as a global regularity term for the evolving contour, and has smoothness properties similar to curvature flow. These properties of gradually adjusting the original flow and global regularization prevent geometrical inaccuracies common with simple discrete topology preservation schemes. The proposed topology preserving geometric flow is the gradient flow arising from an energy that is based on electrostatic principles. The evolution of a single point on the contour depends on all other points of the contour, which is different from traditional curve evolutions in the computer vision literature.     

Segmentation of the Ventricle Membranes in Short-Axis Sequences by Optical Flow Base on DLSRE Model

Recent studies have pointed out that the boundary of the extracted ventricle membranes is unsmooth, and the segmentation of the cardiacpapillary muscle and trabecular muscle do inconformity the clinical requirements. To address these issues, this paper proposes an automatic segment algorithm for continuously extracting ventricle membranes boundary, which adopts optical flow field information and sequential images information. The images are cropped by frame difference method, which according to the continuity of adjacent slices of cardiac MRI images. The roughly boundary of epicardium is extracted by the Double level set region evolution (DLSRE) model, which combines image global information, local information and edge information. The ventricle endocardium and epicardial contours are tracked according to the optical flow field information between image sequences. The segmentation results are optimized by Delaunay triangulation algorithm. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method can improve the accuracy of segmenting the ventricle endocardium and epicardium contours, and segment the contour of the smooth ventricle membrane edge that meets the clinical definition.     

Constraining active contour evolution via Lie Groups of transformation

We present a novel approach to constraining the evolution of active contours used in image analysis. The proposed approach constrains the final curve obtained at convergence of curve evolution to be related to the initial curve from which evolution begins through an element of a desired Lie group of plane transformations. Constraining curve evolution in such a way is important in numerous tracking applications where the contour being tracked in a certain frame is known to be related to the contour in the previous frame through a geometric transformation such as translation, rotation, or affine transformation, for example. It is also of importance in segmentation applications where the region to be segmented is known up to a geometric transformation. Our approach is based on suitably modifying the Euler-Lagrange descent equations by using the correspondence between Lie groups of plane actions and their Lie algebras of infinitesimal generators, and thereby ensures that curve evolution takes place on an orbit of the chosen transformation group while remaining a descent equation of the original functional. The main advantage of our approach is that it does not necessitate any knowledge of nor any modification to the original curve functional and is extremely straightforward to implement. Our approach therefore stands in sharp contrast to other approaches where the curve functional is modified by the addition of geometric penalty terms. We illustrate our algorithm on numerous real and synthetic examples.     

Contour extraction from cardiac MRI studies using snakes

The author investigated automatic extraction of left ventricular contours from cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies. The contour extraction algorithms were based on active contour models, or snakes. Based on cardiac MR image characteristics, the author suggested algorithms for extracting contours from these large data sets. The author specifically considered contour propagation methods to make the contours reliable enough despite noise, artifacts, and poor temporal resolution. The emphasis was on reliable contour extraction with a minimum of user interaction. Both spin echo and gradient echo studies were considered. The extracted contours were used for determining quantitative measures for the heart and could also be used for obtaining graphically rendered cardiac surfaces.     

Curve evolution implementation of the Mumford-Shah functional forimage segmentation, denoising, interpolation, and magnification

We first address the problem of simultaneous image segmentation and smoothing by approaching the Mumford-Shah (1989) paradigm from a curve evolution perspective. In particular, we let a set of deformable contours define the boundaries between regions in an image where we model the data via piecewise smooth functions and employ a gradient flow to evolve these contours. Each gradient step involves solving an optimal estimation problem for the data within each region, connecting curve evolution and the Mumford-Shah functional with the theory of boundary-value stochastic processes. The resulting active contour model offers a tractable implementation of the original Mumford-Shah model (i.e., without resorting to elliptic approximations which have traditionally been favored for greater ease in implementation) to simultaneously segment and smoothly reconstruct the data within a given image in a coupled manner. Various implementations of this algorithm are introduced to increase its speed of convergence. We also outline a hierarchical implementation of this algorithm to handle important image features such as triple points and other multiple junctions. Next, by generalizing the data fidelity term of the original Mumford-Shah functional to incorporate a spatially varying penalty, we extend our method to problems in which data quality varies across the image and to images in which sets of pixel measurements are missing. This more general model leads us to a novel PDE-based approach for simultaneous image magnification, segmentation, and smoothing, thereby extending the traditional applications of the Mumford-Shah functional which only considers simultaneous segmentation and smoothing.     

Guiding ziplock snakes with a priori information

In this paper, we present a method to combine a grammatical model that encodes a priori shape information with the ziplock snakes presented by Neuenschwander et al. (1997). A competing mechanism is adopted to take advantage of the shape models without inducing excessive computation. The resulting model-based ziplock snakes have many advantages over the original model: they can accurately locate contour features, produce more refined results, and deal with multiple contours, missing image cues, and noise.     

An Active Contour Algorithm for Continuous-Time Cellular Neural Networks

A CNN-based algorithm for image segmentation by active contours is proposed here. The algorithm is based on an iterative process of expansion of the contour and its subsequent thinning guided by external and internal energy. The proposed strategy allows for a high level of control over contour evolution making their topologic transformations easier. Therefore processing of multiple contours for segmenting several objects can be carried out simultaneously.     

A contour-based approach to multisensor image registration

Image registration is concerned with the establishment of correspondence between images of the same scene. One challenging problem in this area is the registration of multispectral/multisensor images. In general, such images have different gray level characteristics, and simple techniques such as those based on area correlations cannot be applied directly. On the other hand, contours representing region boundaries are preserved in most cases. The authors present two contour-based methods which use region boundaries and other strong edges as matching primitives. The first contour matching algorithm is based on the chain-code correlation and other shape similarity criteria such as invariant moments. Closed contours and the salient segments along the open contours are matched separately. This method works well for image pairs in which the contour information is well preserved, such as the optical images from Landsat and Spot satellites. For the registration of the optical images with synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images, the authors propose an elastic contour matching scheme based on the active contour model. Using the contours from the optical image as the initial condition, accurate contour locations in the SAR image are obtained by applying the active contour model. Both contour matching methods are automatic and computationally quite efficient. Experimental results with various kinds of image data have verified the robustness of the algorithms, which have outperformed manual registration in terms of root mean square error at the control points.     

基于SVM能量模型的改进主动轮廓图像分割算法研究

为克服经典主动轮廓模型曲线内外区域能量定义在复杂目标与背景分布情况下的不足,本文将高效的支持向量机有监督学习分类器引入基于Mumford-shah模型的主动轮廓图像分割算法中,提出了基于SVM能量模型的改进主动轮廓图像分割方法.该方法首先利用支持向量机的分类结果对于封闭曲线的内外区域分别构造了一种新的图像能量表示方法,因为分割过程充分利用了有监督学习策略,使得本文提出的算法具有更高的稳定性和更加广泛的适用范围,特别是对目标灰度分布不均或存在多纹理的目标也可以得到较好的分割结果.分割时,首先利用SVM实现粗分割得到目标初始轮廓,然后利用改进的Mumford-shah主动轮廓模型进行精确分割,采用粗分割策略一方面可以大大提高分割速度,另一方面也可以提高了算法的自动化程度.对比实验结果表明本文提出的算法具有更大灵活性和更好的分割性能.     

结合边界和区域的水平集超声图像分割算法

针对距离正则化的水平集演化（DRLSE）模型难以处理弱边缘图像、初始轮廓敏感以及曲线演化方向单一等问题,提出一种结合边缘和区域信息的变分水平集超声图像分割模型。该模型采用改进的四阶偏微分方程进行滤波,实现在去除噪声的同时保护图像边缘信息;构造了自适应加权系数,实现曲线自适应地向内或者向外演化;引入CV模型的外部能量项,将图像的边缘信息和区域信息相结合,提高了全局分割能力。实验结果表明：该方法在分割超声图像时,具有演化结果稳定,边缘定位准确的特点,可以较好地提取超声图像中的目标。     

基于Corvis ST医学影像的角膜轮廓提取算法

目前已有的轮廓提取算法在提取可视化角膜生物力学分析仪(corneal visualization scheimpflug technology, Corvis ST)影像的角膜轮廓中,由于角膜边缘的局部图像灰度分布相近这一特点,提取出的角膜轮廓普遍不完整或者提取的角膜轮廓边缘出现细小突出。这会使得角膜轮廓的完整性遭到破坏,提取到的角膜轮廓与实际的角膜原始图像严重不符。本文针对Corvis ST采集的角膜图像的轮廓提取问题,基于最大类间方差法(OTSU)算法设计一种高效的图像处理方法。首先,将角膜图像进行除杂、灰度化以及图像降噪等处理,达到减少图像计算量和降低数字图像噪声干扰的目的;其次,基于OTSU算法对图像进行分割,并在此基础上加入数学形态学运算,达到平滑图像边界和填充细小“孔洞”的目的;最后,采用Canny边缘检测算法提取图像中的角膜轮廓,达成提取出高完整性角膜轮廓的目的。在相同的图像数据集上,与最新的纽扣轮廓瑕疵检测系统中设计的轮廓提取算法(B-OTSU algorithm)进行了对比实验。实验结果表明,从轮廓完整性以及准确性的角度,应用本文方法提取的角膜轮廓明显优于最新的纽扣轮...     

基于轮廓线曲率特征的人脸分类及识别

文中提出一种人脸分类及识别方法。在对人脸图像进行预处理之后,提取出人脸的轮廓,再细化,去除边缘噪声,得到人脸的轮廓线。对此轮廓线逐点计算曲率得到曲率线。将不同的曲率线之间的互相关函数定义为曲率线之间的相似性,并由此对人脸进行分类和识别。由于曲率几何特征明显,具有位移和旋转不变性,所提出的方法有较好的鲁棒性,并且得到了良好的分类效果。     

Consistency and stability of active contours with Euclidean andnon-Euclidean arc lengths

External energies of active contours are often formulated as Euclidean arc length integrals. In this paper, we show that such formulations are biased. By this we mean that the minimum of the external energy does not occur at an image edge. In addition, we also show that for certain forms of external energy the active contour is unstable when initialized at the true edge, the contour drifts away and becomes jagged. Both of these phenomena are due to the use of Euclidean arc length integrals. We propose a non-Euclidean arc length which eliminates these problems. This requires a reformulation of active contours where a single external energy function is replaced by a sequence of energy functions and the contour evolves as an integral curve of the gradient of these energies. The resulting active contour not only has unbiased external energy, but is also more controllable. Experimental evidence is provided in support of the theoretical claims. MRI is used as an example.     

可变形物体的轮廓的提取

边缘信息一直被认为是计算机视觉的重要特性。因而，边缘的检测与轮廓的提取是图象分析的重要步骤。对于边缘的检测，近年来，人们的研究兴趣更多的转向了局部能量的方法，这是一种基于局部相位的方法，它的特点是通过局部能量的最大值可以同时得到不同类型的边缘。在初步得到物体边缘后，本文应用Ｍ．Ｋａｓｓ１９８７年提出的蛇行模型的方法获取物体轮廓，蛇行模型比较适合于可变形物体的轮廓的提取，如：红血球。     

一种改进的窄带算法在彩色序列图像人脸跟踪中的应用

该文提出了一种基于几何主动轮廓模型的人脸跟踪方法.通过直方图反向投影,使人脸区域表现为一个一致性区域与背景相区别.研究了一种改进的窄带算法实现曲线演化:以等间隔分布的节点表示运动曲线,只在这些节点上计算Level set函数的变化值,窄带区内其余点的Level set值的更新通过插值和查表的方法实现;根据节点的局部图像信息决定节点的运动方向和时间步长值.实验表明该算法能在满足一定精度的前提下,快速地对运动人脸进行跟踪.     

基于相位一致性改进的活动轮廓分割模型

为了实现甲状腺超声图像中结节组织的快速准确分割,克服图像灰度分布不均匀和边缘模糊对分割结果造成的影响,采用了基于相位一致性改进的活动轮廓分割模型。首先,利用相位一致性边缘检测原理构造一种新的速度函数,不仅弥补了梯度算子边缘检测中由于滤波处理造成边缘损坏的缺陷,而且可以灵活地控制曲线演化速率;然后,将该速度函数乘入到无边缘主动轮廓模型的能量项中,避免了线性组合中的权重分配问题,同时具有全局分割能力。通过理论分析和实验验证,改进模型的相对差异度均小于1%,运行时间均低于对比模型。结果表明,新模型实现了灰度分布不均匀图像的精确分割,同时分割效率也有所提高。     

基于图像引力和Mumford-Shah模型的曲线演化算法

提出了一种图像引力和Mumford—Shah（M—S）模型的快速曲线演化算法,该算法分两步实现：首先利用图像引力,对参数主动轮廓线模型中的控制点进行寻优,使控制点能快速地收敛到图像的边缘附近;然后利用插值算法,得到目标较粗糙的大致轮廓,再使用M—S模型和窄带方法得到准确的轮廓。该算法避免了参数主动轮廓线模型不能收敛到物体凹陷的边缘和对初始位置敏感等问题,也避免了M—S模型需要对所有图像数据进行计算,计算量大等问题,实现了对参数和几何主动轮廓线模型进行了有效结合。     

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.