28 research outputs found
Computational Analysis of Fundus Images: Rule-Based and Scale-Space Models
Fundus images are one of the most important imaging examinations in modern ophthalmology
because they are simple, inexpensive and, above all, noninvasive.
Nowadays, the acquisition and
storage of highresolution
fundus images is relatively easy and fast. Therefore, fundus imaging
has become a fundamental investigation in retinal lesion detection, ocular health monitoring and
screening programmes. Given the large volume and clinical complexity associated with these images,
their analysis and interpretation by trained clinicians becomes a timeconsuming
task and is
prone to human error. Therefore, there is a growing interest in developing automated approaches
that are affordable and have high sensitivity and specificity. These automated approaches need to
be robust if they are to be used in the general population to diagnose and track retinal diseases. To
be effective, the automated systems must be able to recognize normal structures and distinguish
them from pathological clinical manifestations.
The main objective of the research leading to this thesis was to develop automated systems capable
of recognizing and segmenting retinal anatomical structures and retinal pathological clinical
manifestations associated with the most common retinal diseases. In particular, these automated
algorithms were developed on the premise of robustness and efficiency to deal with the difficulties
and complexity inherent in these images. Four objectives were considered in the analysis of
fundus images. Segmentation of exudates, localization of the optic disc, detection of the midline
of blood vessels, segmentation of the vascular network and detection of microaneurysms.
In addition, we also evaluated the detection of diabetic retinopathy on fundus images using the
microaneurysm detection method. An overview of the state of the art is presented to compare the
performance of the developed approaches with the main methods described in the literature for
each of the previously described objectives. To facilitate the comparison of methods, the state of
the art has been divided into rulebased
methods and machine learningbased
methods.
In the research reported in this paper, rulebased
methods based on image processing methods
were preferred over machine learningbased
methods. In particular, scalespace
methods proved
to be effective in achieving the set goals.
Two different approaches to exudate segmentation were developed. The first approach is based on
scalespace
curvature in combination with the local maximum of a scalespace
blob detector and
dynamic thresholds. The second approach is based on the analysis of the distribution function of
the maximum values of the noise map in combination with morphological operators and adaptive
thresholds. Both approaches perform a correct segmentation of the exudates and cope well with
the uneven illumination and contrast variations in the fundus images.
Optic disc localization was achieved using a new technique called cumulative sum fields, which was
combined with a vascular enhancement method. The algorithm proved to be reliable and efficient,
especially for pathological images. The robustness of the method was tested on 8 datasets.
The detection of the midline of the blood vessels was achieved using a modified corner detector
in combination with binary philtres and dynamic thresholding. Segmentation of the vascular network
was achieved using a new scalespace
blood vessels enhancement method. The developed
methods have proven effective in detecting the midline of blood vessels and segmenting vascular
networks.
The microaneurysm detection method relies on a scalespace
microaneurysm detection and labelling
system. A new approach based on the neighbourhood of the microaneurysms was used
for labelling. Microaneurysm detection enabled the assessment of diabetic retinopathy detection.
The microaneurysm detection method proved to be competitive with other methods, especially with highresolution
images. Diabetic retinopathy detection with the developed microaneurysm
detection method showed similar performance to other methods and human experts.
The results of this work show that it is possible to develop reliable and robust scalespace
methods
that can detect various anatomical structures and pathological features of the retina. Furthermore,
the results obtained in this work show that although recent research has focused on machine learning
methods, scalespace
methods can achieve very competitive results and typically have greater
independence from image acquisition. The methods developed in this work may also be relevant
for the future definition of new descriptors and features that can significantly improve the results
of automated methods.As imagens do fundo do olho são hoje um dos principais exames imagiológicos da oftalmologia
moderna, pela sua simplicidade, baixo custo e acima de tudo pelo seu carácter nãoinvasivo.
A
aquisição e armazenamento de imagens do fundo do olho com alta resolução é também relativamente
simples e rápida. Desta forma, as imagens do fundo do olho são um exame fundamental
na identificação de alterações retinianas, monitorização da saúde ocular, e em programas de rastreio.
Considerando o elevado volume e complexidade clínica associada a estas imagens, a análise
e interpretação das mesmas por clínicos treinados tornase
uma tarefa morosa e propensa a erros
humanos. Assim, há um interesse crescente no desenvolvimento de abordagens automatizadas,
acessíveis em custo, e com uma alta sensibilidade e especificidade. Estas devem ser robustas para
serem aplicadas à população em geral no diagnóstico e seguimento de doenças retinianas. Para
serem eficazes, os sistemas de análise têm que conseguir detetar e distinguir estruturas normais
de sinais patológicos.
O objetivo principal da investigação que levou a esta tese de doutoramento é o desenvolvimento
de sistemas automáticos capazes de detetar e segmentar as estruturas anatómicas da retina, e os
sinais patológicos retinianos associados às doenças retinianas mais comuns. Em particular, estes
algoritmos automatizados foram desenvolvidos segundo as premissas de robustez e eficácia para
lidar com as dificuldades e complexidades inerentes a estas imagens.
Foram considerados quatro objetivos de análise de imagens do fundo do olho. São estes, a segmentação
de exsudados, a localização do disco ótico, a deteção da linha central venosa dos vasos
sanguíneos e segmentação da rede vascular, e a deteção de microaneurismas. De acrescentar que
usando o método de deteção de microaneurismas, avaliouse
também a capacidade de deteção da
retinopatia diabética em imagens do fundo do olho.
Para comparar o desempenho das metodologias desenvolvidas neste trabalho, foi realizado um
levantamento do estado da arte, onde foram considerados os métodos mais relevantes descritos na
literatura para cada um dos objetivos descritos anteriormente. Para facilitar a comparação entre
métodos, o estado da arte foi dividido em metodologias de processamento de imagem e baseadas
em aprendizagem máquina.
Optouse
no trabalho de investigação desenvolvido pela utilização de metodologias de análise espacial
de imagem em detrimento de metodologias baseadas em aprendizagem máquina. Em particular,
as metodologias baseadas no espaço de escalas mostraram ser efetivas na obtenção dos
objetivos estabelecidos.
Para a segmentação de exsudados foram usadas duas abordagens distintas. A primeira abordagem
baseiase
na curvatura em espaço de escalas em conjunto com a resposta máxima local de um detetor
de manchas em espaço de escalas e limiares dinâmicos. A segunda abordagem baseiase
na
análise do mapa de distribuição de ruído em conjunto com operadores morfológicos e limiares
adaptativos. Ambas as abordagens fazem uma segmentação dos exsudados de elevada precisão,
além de lidarem eficazmente com a iluminação nãouniforme
e a variação de contraste presente
nas imagens do fundo do olho. A localização do disco ótico foi conseguida com uma nova técnica
designada por campos de soma acumulativos, combinada com métodos de melhoramento da rede
vascular. O algoritmo revela ser fiável e eficiente, particularmente em imagens patológicas. A robustez
do método foi verificada pela sua avaliação em oito bases de dados. A deteção da linha central
dos vasos sanguíneos foi obtida através de um detetor de cantos modificado em conjunto com
filtros binários e limiares dinâmicos. A segmentação da rede vascular foi conseguida com um novo
método de melhoramento de vasos sanguíneos em espaço de escalas. Os métodos desenvolvidos mostraram ser eficazes na deteção da linha central dos vasos sanguíneos e na segmentação da rede
vascular. Finalmente, o método para a deteção de microaneurismas assenta num formalismo de
espaço de escalas na deteção e na rotulagem dos microaneurismas. Para a rotulagem foi utilizada
uma nova abordagem da vizinhança dos candidatos a microaneurismas. A deteção de microaneurismas
permitiu avaliar também a deteção da retinopatia diabética. O método para a deteção
de microaneurismas mostrou ser competitivo quando comparado com outros métodos, em particular
em imagens de alta resolução. A deteção da retinopatia diabética exibiu um desempenho
semelhante a outros métodos e a especialistas humanos.
Os trabalhos descritos nesta tese mostram ser possível desenvolver uma abordagem fiável e robusta
em espaço de escalas capaz de detetar diferentes estruturas anatómicas e sinais patológicos
da retina.
Além disso, os resultados obtidos mostram que apesar de a pesquisa mais recente concentrarse
em metodologias de aprendizagem máquina, as metodologias de análise espacial apresentam
resultados muito competitivos e tipicamente independentes do equipamento de aquisição das imagens.
As metodologias desenvolvidas nesta tese podem ser importantes na definição de novos
descritores e características, que podem melhorar significativamente o resultado de métodos automatizados
Caracterización del Edema Macular Diabético mediante análisis automático de Tomografías de Coherencia Óptica
Programa Oficial de Doctorado en Computación. 5009V01[Abstract] Diabetic Macular Edema (DME) is one of the most important complications of
diabetes and a leading cause of preventable blindness in the developed countries.
Among the di erent image modalities, Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) is
a non-invasive, cross-sectional and high-resolution imaging technique that is commonly
used for the analysis and interpretation of many retinal structures and ocular
disorders. In this way, the development of Computer-Aided Diagnosis (CAD) systems
has become relevant over the recent years, facilitating and simplifying the work
of the clinical specialists in many relevant diagnostic processes, replacing manual
procedures that are tedious and highly time-consuming.
This thesis proposes a complete methodology for the identi cation and characterization
of DMEs using OCT images. To do so, the system combines and exploits
di erent clinical knowledge with image processing and machine learning strategies.
This automatic system is able to identify and characterize the main retinal structures
and several pathological conditions that are associated with the DME disease, following
the clinical classi cation of reference in the ophthalmological eld. Despite
the complexity and heterogeneity of this relevant ocular pathology, the proposed
system achieved satisfactory results, proving to be robust enough to be used in the
daily clinical practice, helping the clinicians to produce a more accurate diagnosis
and indicate adequate treatments[Resumen] El Edema Macular Diabético (EMD) es una de las complicaciones más importantes
de la diabetes y una de las principales causas de ceguera prevenible en los países
desarrollados. Entre las diferentes modalidades de imagen, la Tomografía de Coherencia
Óptica (TCO) es una técnica de imagen no invasiva, transversal y de alta
resolución que se usa comúnmente para el análisis e interpretación de múltiples
estructuras retinianas y trastornos oculares. De esta manera, el desarrollo de los
sistemas de Diagnóstico Asistido por Ordenador (DAO) se ha vuelto relevante en
los últimos años, facilitando y simplificando el trabajo de los especialistas clínicos
en muchos procesos diagnósticos relevantes, reemplazando procedimientos manuales
que son tediosos y requieren mucho tiempo.
Esta tesis propone una metodología completa para la identificación y caracterización
de EMDs utilizando imágenes TCO. Para ello, el sistema desarrollado combina
y explota diferentes conocimientos clínicos con estrategias de procesamiento
de imágenes y aprendizaje automático. Este sistema automático es capaz de identificar y caracterizar las principales estructuras retinianas y diferentes afecciones
patológicas asociadas con el EMD, siguiendo la clasificación clínica de referencia
en el campo oftalmológico. A pesar de la complejidad de esta relevante patología
ocular, el sistema propuesto logró resultados satisfactorios, demostrando ser lo sufi
cientemente robusto como para ser usado en la práctica clínica diaria, ayudando a
los médicos a producir diagnósticos más precisos y tratamientos más adecuados.[Resumo] O Edema Macular Diabético ( EMD) é unha das complicacións máis importantes da diabetes e unha das principais causas de cegueira prevenible nos países desenvoltos. Entre as diferentes modalidades de imaxe, a Tomografía de Coherencia Óptica ( TCO) é unha técnica de imaxe non invasiva, transversal e de alta resolución que se usa comunmente para a análise e interpretación de múltiples estruturas retinianas e trastornos oculares. Desta maneira, o desenvolvemento dos sistemas de Diagnóstico Asistido por Computador ( DAO) volveuse relevante nos últimos anos, facilitando e simplificando o traballo dos especialistas clínicos en moitos procesos diagnósticos relevantes, substituíndo procedementos manuais que son tediosos e requiren moito tempo. Esta tese propón unha metodoloxía completa para a identificación e caracterización de EMDs utilizando imaxes TCO. Para iso, o sistema desenvolto combina e explota diferentes coñecementos clínicos con estratexias de procesamento de imaxes e aprendizaxe automático. Este sistema automático é capaz de identificar e caracterizar as principais estruturas retinianas e diferentes afeccións patolóxicas asociadas co EMD, seguindo a clasificación clínica de referencia no campo oftalmolóxico. A pesar da complexidade desta relevante patoloxía ocular, o sistema proposto logrou resultados satisfactorios, demostrando ser o sufi cientemente robusto como para ser usado na práctica clínica diaria, axudando aos médicos para producir diagnósticos máis precisos e tratamentos máis adecuados
Advanced retinal vessel segmentation methods in colour fundus images
Segmentace cévního řečiště je častým krokem při zpracování retinálních obrazů. V dnešní době existuje řada automatických metod segmentace cévního řečiště. Tyto metody jsou založeny na mnoha přístupech. Od přizpůsobené filtrace, přes metody využívající rozpoznávání vzorů, až po algoritmy využívající klasifikace obrazu. Použití automatických metod při zpracování retinálních snímků výrazně urychluje a zjednodušuje diagnostiku retinálních onemocnění. Při zpracování automatickými segmentačními algoritmy je jednou ze stěžejních částí prahování obrazu, a právě prahování fundus snímků se věnuje tato práce. Je zde popsána řada prací využívajících globální a lokální prahovací metody, a zejména metody klasifikace obrazu pro segmentaci cévního řečiště ze snímků sítnice. Následně byla na výsledky dvou metod segmentace cévního řečiště použita metoda klasifikace obrazu s učením. Z dosažených výsledků byla posléze stanovena schopnost daných metod segmentovat cévní řečiště. Použitím klasifikace obrazu namísto globálního prahování došlo u první metody na zdravé části databáze k poklesu sensitivity na 63,32 % a přesnosti na 94,99 %. Naopak u specificity byl zaznamenán nárůst na 95,75 %. U druhé metody bylo dosaženo sensitivity 69,24 %, specificity 98,86 % a přesnosti 95,29 %. Kombinací výsledků obou metod bylo dosaženo sensitivity 72,48 %, specificity 98,59 % a výsledné přesnosti 95,75 %. Tímto nebyl s použitím daného klasifikátoru potvrzen předpoklad, že klasifikace obrazu s učením je oproti prostému prahování efektivnější. Zároveň bylo však prokázáno, že rozšíření příznakového vektoru kombinací výsledků z obou metod došlo k nárůstu sensitivity, specificity i přesnosti.Segmentation of vasculature tree is an important step of the process of image processing. There are many methods of automatic blood vessel segmentation. These methods are based on matched filters, pattern recognition or image classification. Use of automatic retinal image processing greatly simplifies and accelerates retinal images diagnosis. The aim of the automatic image segmentation algorithms is thresholding. This work primarily deals with retinal image thresholding. We discuss a few works using local and global image thresholding and supervised image classification to segmentation of blood tree from retinal images. Subsequently is to set of results from two different methods used image classification and discuss effectiveness of the vessel segmentation. Use image classification instead of global thresholding changed statistics of first method on healthy part of HRF. Sensitivity and accuracy decreased to 62,32 %, respectively 94,99 %. Specificity increased to 95,75 %. Second method achieved sensitivity 69.24 %, specificity 98.86% and 95.29 % accuracy. Combining the results of both methods achieved sensitivity up to72.48%, specificity to 98.59% and the accuracy to 95.75%. This confirmed the assumption that the classifier will achieve better results. At the same time, was shown that extend the feature vector combining the results from both methods have increased sensitivity, specificity and accuracy.
Face age estimation using wrinkle patterns
Face age estimation is a challenging problem due to the variation of craniofacial growth,
skin texture, gender and race. With recent growth in face age estimation research, wrinkles
received attention from a number of research, as it is generally perceived as aging
feature and soft biometric for person identification. In a face image, wrinkle is a discontinuous
and arbitrary line pattern that varies in different face regions and subjects.
Existing wrinkle detection algorithms and wrinkle-based features are not robust for face
age estimation. They are either weakly represented or not validated against the ground
truth. The primary aim of this thesis is to develop a robust wrinkle detection method
and construct novel wrinkle-based methods for face age estimation. First, Hybrid Hessian
Filter (HHF) is proposed to segment the wrinkles using the directional gradient
and a ridge-valley Gaussian kernel. Second, Hessian Line Tracking (HLT) is proposed
for wrinkle detection by exploring the wrinkle connectivity of surrounding pixels using a
cross-sectional profile. Experimental results showed that HLT outperforms other wrinkle
detection algorithms with an accuracy of 84% and 79% on the datasets of FORERUS
and FORERET while HHF achieves 77% and 49%, respectively. Third, Multi-scale
Wrinkle Patterns (MWP) is proposed as a novel feature representation for face age
estimation using the wrinkle location, intensity and density. Fourth, Hybrid Aging Patterns
(HAP) is proposed as a hybrid pattern for face age estimation using Facial Appearance
Model (FAM) and MWP. Fifth, Multi-layer Age Regression (MAR) is proposed as
a hierarchical model in complementary of FAM and MWP for face age estimation. For
performance assessment of age estimation, four datasets namely FGNET, MORPH,
FERET and PAL with different age ranges and sample sizes are used as benchmarks.
Results showed that MAR achieves the lowest Mean Absolute Error (MAE) of 3.00
( 4.14) on FERET and HAP scores a comparable MAE of 3.02 ( 2.92) as state of the
art. In conclusion, wrinkles are important features and the uniqueness of this pattern
should be considered in developing a robust model for face age estimation
Pattern Recognition
A wealth of advanced pattern recognition algorithms are emerging from the interdiscipline between technologies of effective visual features and the human-brain cognition process. Effective visual features are made possible through the rapid developments in appropriate sensor equipments, novel filter designs, and viable information processing architectures. While the understanding of human-brain cognition process broadens the way in which the computer can perform pattern recognition tasks. The present book is intended to collect representative researches around the globe focusing on low-level vision, filter design, features and image descriptors, data mining and analysis, and biologically inspired algorithms. The 27 chapters coved in this book disclose recent advances and new ideas in promoting the techniques, technology and applications of pattern recognition
Personality Identification from Social Media Using Deep Learning: A Review
Social media helps in sharing of ideas and information among people scattered around the world and thus helps in creating communities, groups, and virtual networks. Identification of personality is significant in many types of applications such as in detecting the mental state or character of a person, predicting job satisfaction, professional and personal relationship success, in recommendation systems. Personality is also an important factor to determine individual variation in thoughts, feelings, and conduct systems. According to the survey of Global social media research in 2018, approximately 3.196 billion social media users are in worldwide. The numbers are estimated to grow rapidly further with the use of mobile smart devices and advancement in technology. Support vector machine (SVM), Naive Bayes (NB), Multilayer perceptron neural network, and convolutional neural network (CNN) are some of the machine learning techniques used for personality identification in the literature review. This paper presents various studies conducted in identifying the personality of social media users with the help of machine learning approaches and the recent studies that targeted to predict the personality of online social media (OSM) users are reviewed
Upper airways segmentation using principal curvatures
Esta tesis propone una nueva técnica para segmentar las vías aéreas superiores. Esta propuesta
permite la extracción de estructuras curvilíneas usando curvaturas principales. La propuesta
permite la extracción de éstas estructuras en imágenes 2D y 3D. Entre las principales novedades
se encuentra la propuesta de un nuevo criterio de parada en la propagación del algoritmo de
realce de contraste (operador multi-escala de tipo sombrero alto). De la misma forma, el criterio
de parada propuesto es usado para detener los algoritmos de difusión anisotrópica. Además, un
nuevo criterio es propuesto para seleccionar las curvaturas principales que conforman las
estructuras curvilíneas, que se basa en los criterios propuestos por Steger, Deng et. al. y
Armande et. al. Además, se propone un nuevo algoritmo para realizar la supresión de nomáximos
que permite reducir la presencia de discontinuidades en el borde de las estructuras
curvilíneas. Para extraer los bordes de las estructuras curvilíneas, se utiliza un algoritmo de
enlace que incluye un nuevo criterio de distancia para reducir la aparición de agujeros en la
estructura final. Finalmente, con base en los resultados obtenidos, se utiliza un algoritmo
morfológico para cerrar los agujeros y se aplica un algoritmo de crecimiento de regiones para
obtener la segmentación final de las vías respiratorias superiores.This dissertation proposes a new approach to segment the upper airways. This proposal allows
the extraction of curvilinear structures based on the principal curvatures. The proposal
allows extracting these structures from 2D and 3D images. Among the main novelties is the
proposal of a new stopping criterion to stop the propagation of the contrast enhancement algorithm
(multiscale top-hat morphological operator). In the same way, the proposed stopping
criterion is used to stop the anisotropic diffusion algorithms. In addition, a new criterion is
proposed to select the principal curvatures that make up the curvilinear structures, which is
based on the criteria proposed by Steger, Deng et. al. and Armande et. al. Furthermore, a
new algorithm to perform the non-maximum suppression that allows reducing the presence
of discontinuities in the border of curvilinear structures is proposed. To extract the edges of
the curvilinear structures, a linking algorithm is used that includes a new distance criterion to
reduce the appearance of gaps in the final structure. Finally, based on the obtained results, a
morphological algorithm is used to close the gaps and a region growing algorithm to obtain
the final upper airways segmentation is applied.Doctor en IngenieríaDoctorad