17,436 research outputs found
A survey of visual preprocessing and shape representation techniques
Many recent theories and methods proposed for visual preprocessing and shape representation are summarized. The survey brings together research from the fields of biology, psychology, computer science, electrical engineering, and most recently, neural networks. It was motivated by the need to preprocess images for a sparse distributed memory (SDM), but the techniques presented may also prove useful for applying other associative memories to visual pattern recognition. The material of this survey is divided into three sections: an overview of biological visual processing; methods of preprocessing (extracting parts of shape, texture, motion, and depth); and shape representation and recognition (form invariance, primitives and structural descriptions, and theories of attention)
Predictive Encoding of Contextual Relationships for Perceptual Inference, Interpolation and Prediction
We propose a new neurally-inspired model that can learn to encode the global
relationship context of visual events across time and space and to use the
contextual information to modulate the analysis by synthesis process in a
predictive coding framework. The model learns latent contextual representations
by maximizing the predictability of visual events based on local and global
contextual information through both top-down and bottom-up processes. In
contrast to standard predictive coding models, the prediction error in this
model is used to update the contextual representation but does not alter the
feedforward input for the next layer, and is thus more consistent with
neurophysiological observations. We establish the computational feasibility of
this model by demonstrating its ability in several aspects. We show that our
model can outperform state-of-art performances of gated Boltzmann machines
(GBM) in estimation of contextual information. Our model can also interpolate
missing events or predict future events in image sequences while simultaneously
estimating contextual information. We show it achieves state-of-art
performances in terms of prediction accuracy in a variety of tasks and
possesses the ability to interpolate missing frames, a function that is lacking
in GBM
Coronary Artery Segmentation and Motion Modelling
Conventional coronary artery bypass surgery requires invasive sternotomy and the
use of a cardiopulmonary bypass, which leads to long recovery period and has high
infectious potential. Totally endoscopic coronary artery bypass (TECAB) surgery
based on image guided robotic surgical approaches have been developed to allow the
clinicians to conduct the bypass surgery off-pump with only three pin holes incisions
in the chest cavity, through which two robotic arms and one stereo endoscopic camera
are inserted. However, the restricted field of view of the stereo endoscopic images leads
to possible vessel misidentification and coronary artery mis-localization. This results
in 20-30% conversion rates from TECAB surgery to the conventional approach.
We have constructed patient-specific 3D + time coronary artery and left ventricle
motion models from preoperative 4D Computed Tomography Angiography (CTA)
scans. Through temporally and spatially aligning this model with the intraoperative
endoscopic views of the patient's beating heart, this work assists the surgeon to identify
and locate the correct coronaries during the TECAB precedures. Thus this work has
the prospect of reducing the conversion rate from TECAB to conventional coronary
bypass procedures.
This thesis mainly focus on designing segmentation and motion tracking methods
of the coronary arteries in order to build pre-operative patient-specific motion models.
Various vessel centreline extraction and lumen segmentation algorithms are presented,
including intensity based approaches, geometric model matching method and
morphology-based method. A probabilistic atlas of the coronary arteries is formed
from a group of subjects to facilitate the vascular segmentation and registration procedures.
Non-rigid registration framework based on a free-form deformation model
and multi-level multi-channel large deformation diffeomorphic metric mapping are
proposed to track the coronary motion. The methods are applied to 4D CTA images
acquired from various groups of patients and quantitatively evaluated
Multi-temporal time-dependent terrain visualization through localized spatial correspondence parameterization
Visualizing quantitative time-dependent changes in the topography requires relying on a series of discrete given multi-temporal topographic datasets that were acquired on a given time-line. The reality of physical phenomenon occurring during the acquisition times is complex when trying to mutually model the datasets; thus, different levels of spatial inter-relations and geometric inconsistencies among the datasets exist. Any straight forward simulation will result in a truncated, ill-correct and un-smooth visualization. A desired quantitative and qualitative modelling is presumed to describe morphologic changes that occurred, so it can be utilized to carry out more precise and true-to-nature visualization tasks, while trying to best describe the reality transition as it occurred. This research paper suggests adopting a fully automatic hierarchical modelling mechanism, hence implementing several levels of spatial correspondence between the topographic datasets. This quantification is then utilized for the datasets morphing and blending tasks required for intermediate scene visualization. The establishment of a digital model that stores the local spatial transformation parameterization correspondences between the topographic datasets is realized. Along with designated interpolation concepts, this complete process ensures that the visualized transition from one topographic dataset to the other via the quantified correspondences is smooth and continuous, while maintaining morphological and topological relations. © 2013 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland
- …