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This paper addresses the problem of image segmentation by means of active contours, whose evolution is driven by the gradient flow derived from an energy functional that is based on the Bhattacharyya distance. In particular, given the values of a photo- metric variable (or of a set thereof), which is to be used for classifying the image pixels, the active contours are designed to converge to the shape that results in maximal discrepancy between the empirical distributions of the photometric variable inside and outside of the contours. The above discrepancy is measured by means of the Bhattacharyya distance that proves to be an extremely useful tool for solving the problem at hand. The proposed methodology can be viewed as a generalization of the segmentation methods, in which active contours maximize the difference between a finite number of empirical moments of the ‘inside’ and ‘outside’ distributions. Furthermore, it is shown that the proposed methodology is very versatile and flexible in the sense that it allows one to easily accommodate a diversity of the image features based on which the segmentation should be performed. As an additional contribution, a method for automatically adjusting the smoothness properties of the empirical distributions is proposed. Such a procedure is crucial in situations when the number of data samples (supporting a certain segmentation class) varies considerably in the course of the evolution of the active contour. In this case, the smoothness properties of the empirical distributions have to be properly adjusted to avoid either over-or underestimation artifacts. Finally, a number of relevant segmentation results are demonstrated and some further research directions are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although simple and efficient, traditional feature-based texture segmentation methods usually suffer from the intrinsical less inaccuracy, which is mainly caused by the oversimplified assumption that each textured subimage used to estimate a feature is homogeneous. To solve this problem, an adaptive segmentation algorithm based on the coupled Markov random field (CMRF) model is proposed in this paper. The CMRF model has two mutually dependent components: one models the observed image to estimate features, and the other models the labeling to achieve segmentation. When calculating the feature of each pixel, the homogeneity of the subimage is ensured by using only the pixels currently labeled as the same pattern. With the acquired features, the labeling is obtained through solving a maximum a posteriori problem. In our adaptive approach, the feature set and the labeling are mutually dependent on each other, and therefore are alternately optimized by using a simulated annealing scheme. With the gradual improvement of features' accuracy, the labeling is able to locate the exact boundary of each texture pattern adaptively. The proposed algorithm is compared with a simple MRF model based method in segmentation of Brodatz texture mosaics and real scene images. The satisfying experimental demonstrate that the proposed approach can differentiate textured images more accurately. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Level set methods have been widely used in image processing and computer vision. In conventional level set formulations, the level set function typically develops irregularities during its evolution, which may cause numerical errors and eventually destroy the stability of the evolution. Therefore, a numerical remedy, called reinitialization, is typically applied to periodically replace the degraded level set function with a signed distance function. However, the practice of reinitialization not only raises serious problems as when and how it should be performed, but also affects numerical accuracy in an undesirable way. This paper proposes a new variational level set formulation in which the regularity of the level set function is intrinsically maintained during the level set evolution. The level set evolution is derived as the gradient flow that minimizes an energy functional with a distance regularization term and an external energy that drives the motion of the zero level set toward desired locations. The distance regularization term is defined with a potential function such that the derived level set evolution has a unique forward-and-backward (FAB) diffusion effect, which is able to maintain a desired shape of the level set function, particularly a signed distance profile near the zero level set. This yields a new type of level set evolution called distance regularized level set evolution (DRLSE). The distance regularization effect eliminates the need for reinitialization and thereby avoids its induced numerical errors. In contrast to complicated implementations of conventional level set formulations, a simpler and more efficient finite difference scheme can be used to implement the DRLSE formulation. DRLSE also allows the use of more general and efficient initialization of the level set function. In its numerical implementation, relatively large time steps can be used in the finite difference scheme to reduce the number of iterations, while ensuring sufficient numerical accuracy. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the DRLSE formulation, we apply it to an edge-based active contour model for image segmentation, and provide a simple narrowband implementation to greatly reduce computational cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Optic Disc (OD) localization is an important pre-processing step that significantly simplifies subsequent segmentation of the OD and other retinal structures. Current OD localization techniques suffer from impractically-high computation times (few minutes per image). In this work, we present a fast technique that requires less than a second to localize the OD. The technique is based upon obtaining two projections of certain image features that encode the x- and y- coordinates of the OD. The resulting 1-D projections are then searched to determine the location of the OD. This avoids searching the 2-D image space and, thus, enhances the speed of the OD localization process. Image features such as retinal vessels orientation and the OD brightness are used in the current method. Four publicly-available databases, including STARE and DRIVE, are used to evaluate the proposed technique. The OD was successfully located in 330 images out of 340 images (97%) with an average computation time of 0.65 s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pyramid image representations via tree structures are recognized methods for region-based image analysis. Binary partition trees can be applied which document the merging process with small details found at the bottom levels and larger ones close to the root. Hindsight of the merging process is stored within the tree structure and provides the change histories of an image, property from the leaf to the root node. In this work, the change histories are modelled by evolvement functions and their second order statistics are analyzed by using a knee function. Knee values show the reluctancy of each merge. We have systematically formulated these findings to provide a novel framework for binary partition tree analysis, where tree simplification is demonstrated. Based on an evolvement function, for each upward path in a tree, the tree node associated with the first reluctant merge is considered as a pruning candidate. The result is a simplified version providing a reduced solution space and still complying with the definition of a binary tree. The experiments show that image details are preserved whilst the number of nodes is dramatically reduced. An image filtering tool also results which preserves object boundaries and has applications for segmentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]