28,034 research outputs found
Automatic landmark annotation and dense correspondence registration for 3D human facial images
Dense surface registration of three-dimensional (3D) human facial images
holds great potential for studies of human trait diversity, disease genetics,
and forensics. Non-rigid registration is particularly useful for establishing
dense anatomical correspondences between faces. Here we describe a novel
non-rigid registration method for fully automatic 3D facial image mapping. This
method comprises two steps: first, seventeen facial landmarks are automatically
annotated, mainly via PCA-based feature recognition following 3D-to-2D data
transformation. Second, an efficient thin-plate spline (TPS) protocol is used
to establish the dense anatomical correspondence between facial images, under
the guidance of the predefined landmarks. We demonstrate that this method is
robust and highly accurate, even for different ethnicities. The average face is
calculated for individuals of Han Chinese and Uyghur origins. While fully
automatic and computationally efficient, this method enables high-throughput
analysis of human facial feature variation.Comment: 33 pages, 6 figures, 1 tabl
A proposal for a coordinated effort for the determination of brainwide neuroanatomical connectivity in model organisms at a mesoscopic scale
In this era of complete genomes, our knowledge of neuroanatomical circuitry
remains surprisingly sparse. Such knowledge is however critical both for basic
and clinical research into brain function. Here we advocate for a concerted
effort to fill this gap, through systematic, experimental mapping of neural
circuits at a mesoscopic scale of resolution suitable for comprehensive,
brain-wide coverage, using injections of tracers or viral vectors. We detail
the scientific and medical rationale and briefly review existing knowledge and
experimental techniques. We define a set of desiderata, including brain-wide
coverage; validated and extensible experimental techniques suitable for
standardization and automation; centralized, open access data repository;
compatibility with existing resources, and tractability with current
informatics technology. We discuss a hypothetical but tractable plan for mouse,
additional efforts for the macaque, and technique development for human. We
estimate that the mouse connectivity project could be completed within five
years with a comparatively modest budget.Comment: 41 page
Geodesic Warps by Conformal Mappings
In recent years there has been considerable interest in methods for
diffeomorphic warping of images, with applications e.g.\ in medical imaging and
evolutionary biology. The original work generally cited is that of the
evolutionary biologist D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson, who demonstrated warps to
deform images of one species into another. However, unlike the deformations in
modern methods, which are drawn from the full set of diffeomorphism, he
deliberately chose lower-dimensional sets of transformations, such as planar
conformal mappings.
In this paper we study warps of such conformal mappings. The approach is to
equip the infinite dimensional manifold of conformal embeddings with a
Riemannian metric, and then use the corresponding geodesic equation in order to
obtain diffeomorphic warps. After deriving the geodesic equation, a numerical
discretisation method is developed. Several examples of geodesic warps are then
given. We also show that the equation admits totally geodesic solutions
corresponding to scaling and translation, but not to affine transformations
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