Mumford–Shah Model for One-to-One Edge Matching

This paper presents a new algorithm based on the Mumford-Shah model for simultaneously detecting the edge features of two images and jointly estimating a consistent set of transformations to match them. Compared to the current asymmetric methods in the literature, this fully symmetric method allows one to determine one-to-one correspondences between the edge features of two images. The entire variational model is realized in a multiscale framework of the finite element approximation. The optimization process is guided by an estimation minimization-type algorithm and an adaptive generalized gradient flow to guarantee a fast and smooth relaxation. The algorithm is tested on T1 and T2 magnetic resonance image data to study the parameter setting. We also present promising results of four applications of the proposed algorithm: interobject monomodal registration, retinal image registration, matching digital photographs of neurosurgery with its volume data, and motion estimation for frame interpolation.     

基于边缘和互信息法的红外图像配准

用红外图像配准技术对多帧图像进行配准,不仅可以实现平台防抖等电子稳像功能,而且还可以通过对配准后的图像进行多帧累加来积累目标能量,增强图像的性噪比,从而为红外图像弱小目标识别提供帮助。将传统的单纯基于图像整体灰度和基于图像结构特征的配准方法相结合,利用边缘检测得到边缘图像,然后以交互方差为配准测度,以向下加速度法为寻优算法进行图像配准。     

异分辨率高光谱图像的空间配准

近年来,高光谱成像仪迅速发展,可应用于越来越多更复杂的应用场景。人们对遥感图像处理精度等方面提出了更高的要求。图像配准作为遥感图像处理的重要步骤,对遥感图像的后续处理至关重要。遥感图像的配准方式很多,目前比较成熟的配准方式大多集中在不同传感器、相同分辨率下的配准;对于不同传感器、不同分辨率的遥感图像配准成果很少,所以本文对此进行了研究。提出了基于边缘特征寻找同名点的遥感图像配准算法,得到了图像配准结果,并对其进行了验证。相对于现有的配准算法,本文算法使得不同传感器、不同分辨率的遥感图像的配准精度大大提高。     

Hybrid retinal image registration.

This work studies retinal image registration in the context of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) standard. The ETDRS imaging protocol specifies seven fields of each retina and presents three major challenges for the image registration task. First, small overlaps between adjacent fields lead to inadequate landmark points for feature-based methods. Second, the non-uniform contrast/intensity distributions due to imperfect data acquisition will deteriorate the performance of area-based techniques. Third, high-resolution images contain large homogeneous nonvascular/texureless regions that weaken the capabilities of both feature-based and area-based techniques. In this work, we propose a hybrid retinal image registration approach for ETDRS images that effectively combines both area-based and feature-based methods. Four major steps are involved. First, the vascular tree is extracted by using an efficient local entropy-based thresholding technique. Next, zeroth-order translation is estimated by maximizing mutual information based on the binary image pair (area-based). Then image quality assessment regarding the ETDRS field definition is performed based on the translation model. If the image pair is accepted, higher-order transformations will be involved. Specifically, we use two types of features, landmark points and sampling points, for affine/quadratic model estimation. Three empirical conditions are derived experimentally to control the algorithm progress, so that we can achieve the lowest registration error and the highest success rate. Simulation results on 504 pairs of ETDRS images show the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed algorithm.     

Motion estimation of skeletonized angiographic images using elastic registration

An approach for estimating the motion of arteries in digital angiographic image sequences is proposed. Binary skeleton images are registered using an elastic registration algorithm in order to estimate the motion of the corresponding arteries. This algorithm operates recursively on the skeleton images by considering an autoregressive (AR) model of the deformation in conjunction with a dynamic programming (DP) algorithm. The AR model is used at the pixel level and provides a suitable cost function to DP through the innovation process. In addition, a moving average (MA) model for the motion of the entire skeleton is used in combination with the local AR model for improved registration results. The performance of this motion estimation method is demonstrated on simulated and real digital angiographic image sequences. It is shown that motion estimation using elastic registration of skeletons is very successful especially with low contrast and noisy angiographic images.     

基于LK和FAST的时间序列图像快速配准算法

LK光流算法是一种精确高效的特征跟踪算法,能够较大幅度提高图像配准的精度和速度。针对时间序列图像的配准问题,基于LK光流算法,通过基于图像金字塔的方式跟踪改进后的FAST特征角点,采用一种鲁棒的单应矩阵估计算法解算配准参数,提出了一种基于LK光流和改进FAST特征的实时鲁棒配准算法。通过一组时间序列图像从配准精度和配准速度两个方面对所提出算法的性能进行了验证分析,平均重投影误差为0.16,平均处理速度为30 Hz。实验结果表明,该算法能够提取稳定的FAST角点,快速准确地跟踪匹配序列图像之间的特征,较好地解决时间序列图像的实时配准问题。     

A new image registration method for grey images

The proposed algorithm relies on a group of new formulas for calculating tangent slope so as to address angle feature of edge curves of image. It can utilize tangent angle features to estimate automatically and fully the rotation parameters of geometric transform and enable rough matching of images with huge rotation difference. After angle compensation, it can search for matching point sets by correlation criterion, then calculate parameters of affine transform, enable higher-precision emendation of rotation and transferring. Finally, it fulfills precise matching for images with relax-tense iteration method. Compared with the registration approach based on wavelet direction-angle features, the matching algorithm with tangent feature of image edge is more robust and realizes precise registration of various images. Furthermore, it is also helpful in graphics matching.     

稳健的图像匹配方法

景象匹配是计算机视觉研究的一个重要方向,如何在复杂的环境下提高匹配概率与定位精度是其亟待解决的难点之一。在分析畸变校正的量化噪声为高斯噪声的基础上,提出了基于特征和时空关联的积相关图像匹配算法。采用基于噪声抑制小波边缘检测方法,提取实时图和基准图的边缘特征;基于归一化积相关实现序列实时图(3帧)与基准图的匹配,再根据位置信息实现相关峰值的数据融合得到匹配点。此方法克服了因面积增大由几何失真导致的匹配概率下降的缺点,提高了匹配概率,具有较好的匹配稳健性。     

Image fusion and subpixel parameter estimation for automatedoptical inspection of electronic components

The authors present a new approach to automated optical inspection (AOI) of circular features that combines image fusion with subpixel edge detection and parameter estimation. In their method, several digital images are taken of each part as it moves past a camera, creating an image sequence. These images are fused to produce a high-resolution image of the features to be inspected. Subpixel edge detection is performed on the high-resolution image, producing a set of data points that is used for ellipse parameter estimation. The fitted ellipses are then back-projected into 3-space in order to obtain the sizes of the circular features being inspected, assuming that the depth is known. The method is accurate, efficient, and easily implemented. The authors present experimental results for real intensity images of circular features of varying sizes. Their results demonstrate that their algorithm shows greatest improvement over traditional methods in cases where the feature size is small relative to the resolution of the imaging device     

基于边缘和互信息的红外与可见光图像配准

采用一种结合边缘特征和互信息的图像配准方法,对红外与可见光图像进行配准。首先,用小波变换提取图像边缘,然后计算两幅边缘图像在不同条件（平移、旋转）下的归一化互信息,取归一化互信息最大时对应的配准参数为所需配准参数,再确定刚性仿射变换模型的参数,最后经过缩放、平移和旋转得到最终配准图像。     

Bayesian technique for image classifying registration

In this paper, we address a complex image registration issue arising while the dependencies between intensities of images to be registered are not spatially homogeneous. Such a situation is frequently encountered in medical imaging when a pathology present in one of the images modifies locally intensity dependencies observed on normal tissues. Usual image registration models, which are based on a single global intensity similarity criterion, fail to register such images, as they are blind to local deviations of intensity dependencies. Such a limitation is also encountered in contrast-enhanced images where there exist multiple pixel classes having different properties of contrast agent absorption. In this paper, we propose a new model in which the similarity criterion is adapted locally to images by classification of image intensity dependencies. Defined in a Bayesian framework, the similarity criterion is a mixture of probability distributions describing dependencies on two classes. The model also includes a class map which locates pixels of the two classes and weighs the two mixture components. The registration problem is formulated both as an energy minimization problem and as a maximum a posteriori estimation problem. It is solved using a gradient descent algorithm. In the problem formulation and resolution, the image deformation and the class map are estimated simultaneously, leading to an original combination of registration and classification that we call image classifying registration. Whenever sufficient information about class location is available in applications, the registration can also be performed on its own by fixing a given class map. Finally, we illustrate the interest of our model on two real applications from medical imaging: template-based segmentation of contrast-enhanced images and lesion detection in mammograms. We also conduct an evaluation of our model on simulated medical data and show its ability to take into account spatial variations of intensity dependencies while keeping a good registration accuracy.     

Entropy-based dual-portal-to-3-DCT registration incorporating pixel correlation

For patient setup verification in external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) of prostate cancer, we developed an information theoretic registration framework, called the minimax entropy registration framework, to simultaneously and iteratively segment portal images and register them to three-dimensional (3-D) computed tomography (CT) image data. The registration framework has two steps, the max step and the min step, and evaluates appropriate entropies to estimate segmentations of the portal images and to find the transformation parameters. In the initial version of the algorithm (Bansal et al. 1999), we assumed image pixels to be independently distributed, an assumption not true in general. Thus, to better segment the portal images and to improve the accuracy of the estimated registration parameters, in this initial formulation of the problem, the correlation among pixel intensities is modeled using a one-dimensional Markov random process. Line processes are incorporated into the model to improve the estimation of segmentation of the portal images. In the max step, the principle of maximum entropy is invoked to estimate the probability distribution on the segmentations. The estimated distribution is then incorporated into the min step to estimate the registration parameters. Performance of the proposed framework is evaluated and compared to that of a mutual information-based registration algorithm using both simulated and real patient data. In the proposed registration framework, registration of the 3-D CT image and the portal images is guided by an estimated segmentation of the pelvic bone. However, as the prostate can move with respect to the pelvic structure, further localization of the prostate using ultrasound image data is required, an issue to be further explored in future.     

Optic nerve head segmentation

Reliable and efficient optic disk localization and segmentation are important tasks in automated retinal screening. General-purpose edge detection algorithms often fail to segment the optic disk due to fuzzy boundaries, inconsistent image contrast or missing edge features. This paper presents an algorithm for the localization and segmentation of the optic nerve head boundary in low-resolution images (about 20 microns/pixel). Optic disk localization is achieved using specialized template matching, and segmentation by a deformable contour model. The latter uses a global elliptical model and a local deformable model with variable edge-strength dependent stiffness. The algorithm is evaluated against a randomly selected database of 100 images from a diabetic screening programme. Ten images were classified as unusable; the others were of variable quality. The localization algorithm succeeded on all bar one usable image; the contour estimation algorithm was qualitatively assessed by an ophthalmologist as having Excellent-Fair performance in 83% of cases, and performs well even on blurred images.     

星空背景中目标识别算法研究

为了实时捕获混杂在天基背景中的运动目标,采用基于Fourier—Mellin图像配准与边缘提取相结合的差分算法。先采用Fourier—Mellin算法和相位相关算法求取图像的旋转角度及缩放和平移参数,得出配准点,再对连续采集的两帧图像配准、差分、二值化,将差分图像与后一帧边缘提取的图像进行逻辑乘,得到目标。仿真结果表明,该算法虚警率低,适合微型航天器多目标捕获的要求。     

Coherent multiscale image processing using dual-tree quaternion wavelets

The dual-tree quaternion wavelet transform (QWT) is a new multiscale analysis tool for geometric image features. The QWT is a near shift-invariant tight frame representation whose coefficients sport a magnitude and three phases: two phases encode local image shifts while the third contains image texture information. The QWT is based on an alternative theory for the 2-D Hilbert transform and can be computed using a dual-tree filter bank with linear computational complexity. To demonstrate the properties of the QWT's coherent magnitude/phase representation, we develop an efficient and accurate procedure for estimating the local geometrical structure of an image. We also develop a new multiscale algorithm for estimating the disparity between a pair of images that is promising for image registration and flow estimation applications. The algorithm features multiscale phase unwrapping, linear complexity, and sub-pixel estimation accuracy.     

基于傅里叶梅林变换的SURF算法

针对加速鲁棒性特征算法,在没有后续去误匹配等处理的情况下,对存在较大旋转角度的两幅待匹配图像,匹配精度较低的问题,提出了一种基于傅里叶梅林变换的SURF算法。该算法通过对待匹配图像和参考图像实施傅里叶变换和梅林变换,利用能量谱求出两幅图像发生的旋转角度,并利用SURF算法找出图像间发生的平移和尺度变化,实现了图像间的匹配。实验结果表明,该算法可有效地实现图像间存在较大旋转角度时的几何匹配,且相比已有的SIFT和SURF算法,具有更好的匹配效果。     

Mutual information-based CT-MR brain image registration using generalized partial volume joint histogram estimation

Mutual information (MI)-based image registration has been found to be quite effective in many medical imaging applications. To determine the MI between two images, the joint histogram of the two images is required. In the literature, linear interpolation and partial volume interpolation (PVI) are often used while estimating the joint histogram for registration purposes. It has been shown that joint histogram estimation through these two interpolation methods may introduce artifacts in the MI registration function that hamper the optimization process and influence the registration accuracy. In this paper, we present a new joint histogram estimation scheme called generalized partial volume estimation (GPVE). It turns out that the PVI method is a special case of the GPVE procedure. We have implemented our algorithm on the clinically obtained brain computed tomography and magnetic resonance image data furnished by Vanderbilt University. Our experimental results show that, by properly choosing the kernel functions, the GPVE algorithm significantly reduces the interpolation-induced artifacts and, in cases that the artifacts clearly affect registration accuracy, the registration accuracy is improved.     

An image registration algorithm based on phase correlation and the classical Lucas–Kanade technique

Image registration is defined as an important process in image processing in order to align two or more images. A new image registration algorithm for translated and rotated pairs of 2D images is presented in order to achieve subpixel accuracy and spend a small fraction of computation time. To achieve the accurate rotation estimation, we propose a two-step method. The first step uses the Fourier Mellin Transform and phase correlation technique to get the large rotation, then the second one uses the Fourier Mellin Transform combined with an enhance Lucas–Kanade technique to estimate the accurate rotation. For the subpixel translation estimation, the proposed algorithm suggests an improved Hanning window as a preprocessing task to reduce the noise in images then achieves a subpixel registration in two steps. The first step uses the spatial domain approach which consists of locating the peak of the cross-correlation surface, while the second uses the frequency domain approach, based on low-frequency (aliasing-free part) of aliased images. Experimental results presented in this work show that the proposed algorithm reduces the computational complexities with a better accuracy compared to other subpixel registration algorithms.     

A hybrid feature extraction method for SAR image registration

Extracting and matching correct correspondence between two images are significant stages for feature-based synthetic aperture radar (SAR) image registration. Two methods of feature extraction were employed in this study. Blob features were obtained by combining a Gaussian-guided filter (GGF) with a scale invariant feature transform, and corner features were obtained from the GGF. A GGF can store edge information and operate more effectively than a Gaussian filter. The ratio of average was used to compute gradients in order to reduce the speckle effect. Fast sample consensus (FSC) algorithm was combined with complete graph method for feature correspondence matching. Although FSC algorithm can extract valid correspondence, it may not be efficient enough to deal with SAR images due to its random nature and the large number of outliers in the data. Therefore, a graph-based algorithm was employed to solve the problem by eliminating outliers. The proposed hybrid method was tested on several real SAR images having different properties. The results showed that the proposed method performed the automated registration of SAR images more accurately and efficiently.     

Markov random field on region adjacency graph for the fusion of SAR and optical data in radargrammetric applications

This paper deals with the estimation of an elevation model using a pair of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images and an optical image in semiurban areas. The proposed method is based on a Markovian regularization of an elevation field defined on a region adjacency graph (RAG). This RAG is obtained by oversegmenting the optical image. The support for elevation hypotheses is given by the structural matching of features extracted from both SAR images. The regularization model takes into account discontinuities of buildings thanks to an implicit edge process. Starting from a good initialization, optimization is obtained through an iterated conditional mode algorithm.