V. B. Surya Prasath

Fast and globally convex multiphase active contours for brain MRI segmentation

Abstract Multiphase active contour based models are useful in identifying multiple regions with spatial consistency but varying characteristics such as the mean intensities of regions. Segmenting brain magnetic resonance images (MRIs) using a multiphase approach is useful to differentiate white and gray matter tissue for anatomical, functional and disease studies. Multiphase active contour methods are superior to other approaches due to their topological flexibility, accurate boundaries, robustness to image variations and adaptive energy functionals. Globally convex methods are furthermore initialization independent. We extend the relaxed globally convex Chan and Vese two-phase piecewise constant energy minimization formulation of Chan et al. (2006) [1] to the multiphase domain and prove the existence of a global minimizer in a specific space which is one of the novel contributions of the paper. An efficient dual minimization implementation of our binary partitioning function model accurately describes disjoint regions using stable segmentations by avoiding local minima solutions. Experimental results indicate that the proposed approach provides consistently better accuracy than other related multiphase active contour algorithms using four different error metrics (Dice, Rand Index, Global Consistency Error and Variation of Information) even under severe noise, intensity inhomogeneities, and partial volume effects in MRI imagery.Multiphase active contour based models are useful in identifying multiple regions with different characteristics such as the mean values of regions. This is relevant in brain magnetic resonance images (MRIs), allowing the differentiation of white matter against gray matter. We consider a well defined globally convex formulation of Vese and Chan multiphase active contour model for segmenting brain MRI images. A well-established theory and an efficient dual minimization scheme are thoroughly described which guarantees optimal solutions and provides stable segmentations. Moreover, under the dual minimization implementation our model perfectly describes disjoint regions by avoiding local minima solutions. Experimental results indicate that the proposed approach provides better accuracy than other related multiphase active contour algorithms even under severe noise, intensity inhomogeneities, and partial volume effects.

A hybrid convex variational model for image restoration

We propose a new hybrid model for variational image restoration using an alternative diffusion switching non-quadratic function with a parameter. The parameter is chosen adaptively so as to minimize the smoothing near the edges and allow the diffusion to smooth away from the edges. This model belongs to a class of edge-preserving regularization methods proposed in the past, the @f-function formulation. This involves a minimizer to the associated energy functional. We study the existence and uniqueness of the energy functional of the model. Using real and synthetic images we show that the model is effective in image restoration.

Well-Posed Inhomogeneous Nonlinear Diffusion Scheme for Digital Image Denoising

We study an inhomogeneous partial differential equation which includes a separate edge detection part to control smoothing in and around possible discontinuities, under the framework of anisotropic diffusion. By incorporating edges found at multiple scales via an adaptive edge detector-based indicator function, the proposed scheme removes noise while respecting salient boundaries. We create a smooth transition region around probable edges found and reduce the diffusion rate near it by a gradient-based diffusion coefficient. In contrast to the previous anisotropic diffusion schemes, we prove the well-posedness of our scheme in the space of bounded variation. The proposed scheme is general in the sense that it can be used with any of the existing diffusion equations. Numerical simulations on noisy images show the advantages of our scheme when compared to other related schemes.

Multiscale Tikhonov-Total Variation Image Restoration Using Spatially Varying Edge Coherence Exponent

Edge preserving regularization using partial differential equation (PDE)-based methods although extensively studied and widely used for image restoration, still have limitations in adapting to local structures. We propose a spatially adaptive multiscale variable exponent-based anisotropic variational PDE method that overcomes current shortcomings, such as over smoothing and staircasing artifacts, while still retaining and enhancing edge structures across scale. Our innovative model automatically balances between Tikhonov and total variation (TV) regularization effects using scene content information by incorporating a spatially varying edge coherence exponent map constructed using the eigenvalues of the filtered structure tensor. The multiscale exponent model we develop leads to a novel restoration method that preserves edges better and provides selective denoising without generating artifacts for both additive and multiplicative noise models. Mathematical analysis of our proposed method in variable exponent space establishes the existence of a minimizer and its properties. The discretization method we use satisfies the maximum-minimum principle which guarantees that artificial edge regions are not created. Extensive experimental results using synthetic, and natural images indicate that the proposed multiscale Tikhonov-TV (MTTV) and dynamical MTTV methods perform better than many contemporary denoising algorithms in terms of several metrics, including signal-to-noise ratio improvement and structure preservation. Promising extensions to handle multiplicative noise models and multichannel imagery are also discussed.

Methods on Skull Stripping of MRI Head Scan Images—a Review

The high resolution magnetic resonance (MR) brain images contain some non-brain tissues such as skin, fat, muscle, neck, and eye balls compared to the functional images namely positron emission tomography (PET), single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) which usually contain relatively less non-brain tissues. The presence of these non-brain tissues is considered as a major obstacle for automatic brain image segmentation and analysis techniques. Therefore, quantitative morphometric studies of MR brain images often require a preliminary processing to isolate the brain from extra-cranial or non-brain tissues, commonly referred to as skull stripping. This paper describes the available methods on skull stripping and an exploratory review of recent literature on the existing skull stripping methods.

Multispectral image denoising by well-posed anisotropic diffusion scheme with channel coupling

A novel way to denoise multispectral images is proposed via an anisotropic diffusion based partial differential equation (PDE). A coupling term is added to the divergence term and it facilitates the modelling of interchannel relations in multidimensional image data. A total variation function is used to model the intrachannel smoothing and gives a piecewise smooth result with edge preservation. The coupling term uses weights computed from different bands of the input image and balances the interchannel information in the diffusion process. It aligns edges from different channels and stops the diffusion transfer using the weights. Well-posedness of the PDE is proved in the space of bounded variation functions. Comparison with the previous approaches is provided to demonstrate the advantages of the proposed scheme. The simulation results show that the proposed scheme effectively removes noise and preserves the main features of multispectral image data by taking channel coupling into consideration.

Mucosal region detection and 3D reconstruction in wireless capsule endoscopy videos using active contours

Wireless capsule endoscopy (WCE) provides an inner view of the human digestive system. The inner tubular like structure of the intestinal tract consists of two major regions: lumen - intermediate region where the capsule moves, mucosa - membrane lining the lumen cavities. We study the use of the Split Bregman version of the extended active contour model of Chan and Vese for segmenting mucosal regions in WCE videos. Utilizing this segmentation we obtain a 3D reconstruction of the mucosal tissues using a near source perspective shape-from-shading (SfS) technique. Numerical results indicate that the active contour based segmentation provides better segmentations compared to previous methods and in turn gives better 3D reconstructions of mucosal regions.

A segmentation model and application to endoscopic images

In this paper a variational segmentation model is proposed. It is a generalization of the Chan and Vese model, for the scalar and vector-valued cases. It incorporates extra terms, depending on the image gradient, and aims at approximating the smoothed image gradient norm, inside and outside the segmentation curve, by mean constant values. As a result, a flexible model is obtained. It segments, more accurately, any object displaying many oscillations in its interior. In effect, an external contour of the object, as a whole, is achieved, together with internal contours, inside the object. For determining the approximate solution a Levenberg-Marquardt Newton-type optimization method is applied to the finite element discretization of the model. Experiments on in vivo medical endoscopic images (displaying aberrant colonic crypt foci) illustrate the efficacy of this model.

Ringing Artifact Reduction in Blind Image Deblurring and Denoising Problems by Regularization Methods

Image deblurring and denoising are the main steps in early vision problems. A common problem in deblurring is the ringing artifacts created by trying to restore the unknown point spread function (PSF). The random noise present makes this task even harder. Variational blind deconvolution methods add a smoothness term for the PSF as well as for the unknown image. These methods can amplify the outliers correspond to noisy pixels. To remedy these problems we propose the addition of a first order reaction term which penalizes the deviation in gradients. This reduces the ringing artifact in blind image deconvolution. Numerical results show the effectiveness of this additional term in various blind and semi-blind image deblurring and denoising problems.

AN ADAPTIVE DIFFUSION SCHEME FOR IMAGE RESTORATION AND SELECTIVE SMOOTHING

Anisotropic partial differential equation (PDE)-based image restoration schemes employ a local edge indicator function typically based on gradients. In this paper, an alternative pixel-wise adaptive diffusion scheme is proposed. It uses a spatial function giving better edge information to the diffusion process. It avoids the over-locality problem of gradient-based schemes and preserves discontinuities coherently. The scheme satisfies scale space axioms for a multiscale diffusion scheme; and it uses a well-posed regularized total variation (TV) scheme along with Perona-Malik type functions. Median-based weight function is used to handle the impulse noise case. Numerical results show promise of such an adaptive approach on real noisy images.