3,173 research outputs found
Efficient Evaluation of the Number of False Alarm Criterion
This paper proposes a method for computing efficiently the significance of a
parametric pattern inside a binary image. On the one hand, a-contrario
strategies avoid the user involvement for tuning detection thresholds, and
allow one to account fairly for different pattern sizes. On the other hand,
a-contrario criteria become intractable when the pattern complexity in terms of
parametrization increases. In this work, we introduce a strategy which relies
on the use of a cumulative space of reduced dimensionality, derived from the
coupling of a classic (Hough) cumulative space with an integral histogram
trick. This space allows us to store partial computations which are required by
the a-contrario criterion, and to evaluate the significance with a lower
computational cost than by following a straightforward approach. The method is
illustrated on synthetic examples on patterns with various parametrizations up
to five dimensions. In order to demonstrate how to apply this generic concept
in a real scenario, we consider a difficult crack detection task in still
images, which has been addressed in the literature with various local and
global detection strategies. We model cracks as bounded segments, detected by
the proposed a-contrario criterion, which allow us to introduce additional
spatial constraints based on their relative alignment. On this application, the
proposed strategy yields state-of the-art results, and underlines its potential
for handling complex pattern detection tasks
Active skeleton for bacteria modeling
The investigation of spatio-temporal dynamics of bacterial cells and their
molecular components requires automated image analysis tools to track cell
shape properties and molecular component locations inside the cells. In the
study of bacteria aging, the molecular components of interest are protein
aggregates accumulated near bacteria boundaries. This particular location makes
very ambiguous the correspondence between aggregates and cells, since computing
accurately bacteria boundaries in phase-contrast time-lapse imaging is a
challenging task. This paper proposes an active skeleton formulation for
bacteria modeling which provides several advantages: an easy computation of
shape properties (perimeter, length, thickness, orientation), an improved
boundary accuracy in noisy images, and a natural bacteria-centered coordinate
system that permits the intrinsic location of molecular components inside the
cell. Starting from an initial skeleton estimate, the medial axis of the
bacterium is obtained by minimizing an energy function which incorporates
bacteria shape constraints. Experimental results on biological images and
comparative evaluation of the performances validate the proposed approach for
modeling cigar-shaped bacteria like Escherichia coli. The Image-J plugin of the
proposed method can be found online at http://fluobactracker.inrialpes.fr.Comment: Published in Computer Methods in Biomechanics and Biomedical
Engineering: Imaging and Visualizationto appear i
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