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.     

Ultrasound kidney segmentation with a global prior shape

In this paper, we focus on segmentation of ultrasound kidney images. Unlike previous work by using trained prior shapes, we employ a parametric super-ellipse as a global prior shape for a human kidney. The Fisher–Tippett distribution is employed to describe the grey level statistics. Combining the grey level statistics with a global character of a kidney shape, we propose a new active contour model to segment ultrasound kidney images. The proposed model involves two subproblems. One subproblem is to optimize the parameters of a super-ellipse. Another subproblem is to segment an ultrasound kidney image. An alternating minimization scheme is used to optimize the parameters of a super-ellipse and segment an image simultaneously. To segment an image fast, a convex relaxation method is introduced and the split Bregman method is incorporated to propose a fast segmentation algorithm. The efficiency of the proposed method is illustrated by numerical experiments on both simulated images and real ultrasound kidney images.     

基于Mumford-Shah模型的参数估计和两阶段图像分割方法

Mumford-Shah两相分片常数模型是一个有效的图像分割模型,但当模型用于带有噪声的图像时,其水平集解法存在对初始解和长度参数敏感这两个问题.文中给出一种两阶段分割方法,首先利用传统的简单分割方法获得一个粗分割,再将其作为变分模型的初始解,从而实现自动选取初始解.文中还给出一个有效的自适应长度参数估计模型,该模型依据图像中噪声方差大小来确定参数.两阶段分割方法和自适应参数估计结合起来使得算法大大减弱了对参量的敏感性,而且可以正确、快速地分割.针对一些计算机生成图像和实际图像的实验结果验证了算法是有效的.     

提取鱼眼图像轮廓的算法改进及图像校正

用鱼眼镜头拍摄的图像具有严重的变形,精确地提取鱼眼图像的轮廓是进行图像校正的前提。针对传统的提取鱼眼图像轮廓的算法对噪点抑制能力不强,在有效区域存在大量黑色像素时算法失效等缺点,本文提出了一种改进的提取鱼眼图像轮廓的切线法。实验表明,该算法能准确定位鱼眼图像的圆心坐标和半径,精度高、实时性好,具有明显的优越性。最后,本文用球面坐标定位法对图像进行变形校正,取得了很好的效果。     

Contour detection of the left ventricular cavity from angiographic images

A knowledge-based heuristic method is proposed to outline the left ventricular cavity from end-diastolic angiographic images in right anterior oblique projection in man. The algorithm search for the optimal path in a weighted graph, representing the state space, can implicitly be defined as the set of all the contour segments that can be produced by successor operators. Applications to routine images are presented.     

利用局部离散度活动轮廓模型的强度非均匀图像分割

强度非均匀现象在真实图像中普遍存在,采用常规基于强度的分割算法会导致严重的误分割。针对强度非均匀图像分割,提出了基于局部离散度的活动轮廓模型分割算法。首先定义基于类内类间距离的离散度,然后利用核函数提取局部区域信息,同时加入边缘指示函数加权的轮廓线长度项能量,建立基于局部离散度的活动轮廓模型。最后引入水平集函数惩罚项,避免水平集方法在演化求解时需要不断初始化的问题。合成图像和真实图像实验结果证明本文算法性能稳定,适应于强度非均匀图像的分割。      

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...     

基于红外图像的零值绝缘子自动检测算法

在电力系统中,利用计算机视觉和图像处理技术对零值绝缘子进行检测,对保障电力系统的安全运行具有非常重要的作用。提出了一种基于红外图像的零值绝缘子自动检测算法。该算法首先对输入图像进行预处理,利用GLOH描述子结合机器学习精确定位绝缘子,然后利用图谱方法提取图像的边界点,并搜索初始轮廓线作为初始值,利用GVF Snake模型检测绝缘子串的精确轮廓线,以分割绝缘子,最后通过分析统计直方图,实现零值绝缘子的自动检测。实验结果表明,所提出的算法可以有效地检测零值绝缘子。     

基于局部灰度分析的红外图像轮廓跟踪算法

根据飞行目标红外图像特点,提出了用最大距离法用于局部闭值分割,用链码法来做改进的轮廓跟踪算法。该算法把消除颗粒噪声、采样离散化误差作为边缘平滑的重点;通过对图像局部灰度特性的分析解决了轮廓跟踪过程中出现的断边、分支问题。经验证,采用该算法可得到清晰、光滑的轮廓图像,并且具有较快的运算速度,可实现实时处理,实时显示。     

Zernike moment and local distribution fitting fuzzy energy-based active contours for image segmentation

This paper presents a new region-based active contour model for extracting the object boundaries in an image, based on techniques of curve evolution. The proposed model introduces an energy functional that involves intensity distributions in local image regions and fuzzy membership functions. The local image intensity distribution information used to guide the motion of the contour, in the paper, is derived by Hueckel operator in the neighborhood of each image point. The parameters of Hueckel operator are estimated by a set of orthogonal Zernike moments before curve evolution. Meanwhile, the fuzzy membership functions are used to measure the association degree of each image pixel to the region outside and inside the contour. To minimize the energy functional, instead of solving the Euler–Lagrange equation of the underlying problem, the paper employs a direct method to compute the energy alterations. As a result, the model can deal with images with intensity inhomogeneity. In addition, the model effectively alleviates the sensitivity to contour initialization. Moreover, the model reduces computational cost, avoids problems associated with choosing time steps as well as allows fast convergence to the segmentation solutions. Experimental results on synthetic, real images and comparisons with other models show the desired performances of the proposed model.     

Deformable boundary detection of stents in angiographic images

In this paper, a procedure is described for deformable boundary detection of medical tools, called stents, in angiographic images. A stent is a surgical stainless steel coil that is placed in the artery in order to improve blood circulation in regions where a stenosis has appeared. Assuming initially a set of three-dimensional (3-D) models of stents and using perspective projection of various deformations of the 3-D model of the stent, a large set of synthetic two-dimensional (2-D) images of stents is constructed. These synthetic images are then used as a training set for deriving a multivariate Gaussian density estimate based on eigenspace decomposition and formulating a maximum-likelihood estimation framework in order to reach an initial rough estimate for automatic object recognition. The silhouette of the detected stent is then refined by using a 2-D active contour (snake) algorithm integrated with a novel iterative initialization technique, which takes into consideration the geometry of the stent. The algorithm is experimentally evaluated using real angiographic images containing stents.     

Automatic segmentation of coronary arteries in CT imaging in the presence of kissing vessel artifacts

In this paper, we present a novel two-step algorithm for segmentation of coronary arteries in computed tomography images based on the framework of active contours. In the proposed method, both global and local intensity information is utilized in the energy calculation. The global term is defined as a normalized cumulative distribution function, which contributes to the overall active contour energy in an adaptive fashion based on image histograms, to deform the active contour away from local stationary points. Possible outliers, such as kissing vessel artifacts, are removed in the postprocessing stage by a slice-by-slice correction scheme based on multiregion competition, where both arteries and kissing vessels are identified and tracked through the slices. The efficiency and the accuracy of the proposed technique are demonstrated on both synthetic and real datasets. The results on clinical datasets show that the method is able to extract the major branches of arteries with an average distance of 0.73 voxels to the manually delineated ground truth data. In the presence of kissing vessel artifacts, the outer surface of the entire coronary tree, extracted by the proposed algorithm, is smooth and contains fewer erroneous regions, originating in kissing vessel artifacts, as compared to the initial segmentation.     

基于模糊阈值和水平集的红外图像分割方法

针对阈值法分割红外图像易产生误分割和水平集分割方法受初始曲线限制大,提出了一种结合模糊阈值与水平集的自适应红外图像分割方法。该方法首先采用二维Otsu方法计算阈值,利用该阈值获取模糊阈值分割法中的窗口宽度,使模糊阈值分割法具有自适应性;然后采用此自适应模糊阈值分割法预分割红外图像,利用预分割结果自动获取水平集初始曲线;最后将Chan-Vese方法与Shi方法结合提出改进的水平集方法,并用此方法分割红外图像。实验结果表明,本文方法具有较好的分割效果和较强的鲁棒性。     

一种改进的基于距离变换的图像目标轮廓插值方法

本文提出了一种改进的基于欧几里德距离变换的图像目标轮廓插值方法。首先由获取的层间间距相对较大的序列断层图像,经由对图像中目标的轮廓跟踪和对图像中目标的区域填充获得图像目标的轮廓图和区域图,采用欧几里德距离变换求取该序列断层图像目标轮廓的距离图,运用逆距离加权平均线性插值方法求得相邻图像中目标的距离图之间的轮廓图像。运用本文方法得到的中间插值轮廓过渡平滑,并且能够很好地解决极端凹轮廓之间的中间插值轮廓问题,本文的方法具有较高实际应用意义。     

Image registration based on boundary mapping

A new two-stage approach for nonlinear brain image registration is proposed. In the first stage, an active contour algorithm is used to establish a homothetic one-to-one map between a set of region boundaries in two images to be registered. This mapping is used in the second step: a two-dimensional transformation which is based on an elastic body deformation. This method is tested by registering magnetic resonance images to atlas images.     

Contour extraction in medical images using initial boundary pixel selection and segmental contour following

In today??s health care, an imaging system plays an important role throughout the entire clinical process from diagnosis and treatment planning to surgical procedures and follow-up studies of disease. Boundary detection is a technique used to segment an object within a region of interest in the medical image for further clinical applications. Contour extraction is one of the most important boundary detection methods. In this paper, an object contour extraction for gray-level medical images using automatic initial boundary pixel selection and tracing of a segmental contour based on the boundary pixels obtained by the initial boundary pixel selection is proposed. Experimental results on artificial images of convex and deep concave objects, and real CT and MRI images show that, in comparing with other existing methods, a more detailed and accurate contour can be obtained using the proposed object contour extraction method. This has low computational complexity, which will benefit applications to clinical diagnosis, treatment, surgery, and follow up studies.     

Speed improvement of B-snake algorithm using dynamic programming optimization

This paper presents a novel approach to contour approximation carried out by means of the B-snake algorithm and the dynamic programming (DP) optimization technique. Using the proposed strategy for contour point search procedure, computing complexity is reduced to O(N×M(2)), whereas the standard DP method has an O(N×M(4)) complexity, with N being the number of contour sample points and M being the number of candidates in the search space. The storage requirement was also decreased from N×M(3) to N×M memory elements. Some experiments on noise corrupted synthetic image, magnetic resonance, and computer tomography medical images have shown that the proposed approach results are equivalent to those obtained by the standard DP algorithm.     

一种具有预测能力的三维图像分割方法

在充分分析三维图像特点的基础上,提出了一种新的三维图像分割方案。该方案在改进的主动轮廓模型的基础上融入了预测算法。三维图像中物体的轮廓沿着空间轴或时间轴的位移和形变是连续的,该算法根据这一特性,利用前几幅图的分割结果来预测当前图像中物体轮廓的位置和形状,弥补了主动轮廓模型搜索范围小的缺点。对医学解剖图像的试验结果表明,这种方法能显著提高分割的准确性和速度。     

基于显著轮廓特征的SAR图像轮廓匹配新方法

在以星载SAR图像作为基准图、机载/弹载SAR图像作为实时图的匹配导航和精确制导研究中,传统基于点特征的匹配方法存在特征点数目过多, 误匹配率较高,容易受噪声及灰度变化影响等问题。该文提出一种基于显著轮廓特征的SAR图像“由粗到精”的匹配新方法。该方法在对SAR图像进行预处理的基础上,采用改进的模糊C均值聚类(FCM)的图像分割方法来提取闭合轮廓特征;采用归一化轮廓中心距离描述符进行双向匹配,获得强鲁棒性的粗匹配轮廓对;在粗匹配轮廓上采用改进的局部二值模式(LBP)算子得到精匹配结果。试验结果表明,该方法在图像旋转、空间变化以及噪声干扰较大的情况下,具有精确性高、鲁棒性强的优势,适宜遥感SAR图像匹配。     

基于渐进式生成对抗网络的舰船红外图像仿真

红外图像仿真在红外导引头设计、仿真训练中起到十分关键的作用.针对如何生成高分辨率、视觉特征可控的红外图像,提出了一种基于渐进式生成对抗网络的红外图像仿真方法.本文利用舰船模型的红外图像数据集训练了图像合成网络,输入随机特征向量,输出高分辨率的红外仿真图像;设计了图像编码网络,实现红外图像到特征向量的转换;利用Logis...