4,245 research outputs found
Mid-space-independent deformable image registration
Aligning images in a mid-space is a common approach to ensuring that deformable image registration is symmetric – that it does not depend on the arbitrary ordering of the input images. The results are, however, generally dependent on the mathematical definition of the mid-space. In particular, the set of possible solutions is typically restricted by the constraints that are enforced on the transformations to prevent the mid-space from drifting too far from the native image spaces. The use of an implicit atlas has been proposed as an approach to mid-space image registration. In this work, we show that when the atlas is aligned to each image in the native image space, the data term of implicit-atlas-based deformable registration is inherently independent of the mid-space. In addition, we show that the regularization term can be reformulated independently of the mid-space as well. We derive a new symmetric cost function that only depends on the transformation morphing the images to each other, rather than to the atlas. This eliminates the need for anti-drift constraints, thereby expanding the space of allowable deformations. We provide an implementation scheme for the proposed framework, and validate it through diffeomorphic registration experiments on brain magnetic resonance images
Robust Cardiac Motion Estimation using Ultrafast Ultrasound Data: A Low-Rank-Topology-Preserving Approach
Cardiac motion estimation is an important diagnostic tool to detect heart
diseases and it has been explored with modalities such as MRI and conventional
ultrasound (US) sequences. US cardiac motion estimation still presents
challenges because of the complex motion patterns and the presence of noise. In
this work, we propose a novel approach to estimate the cardiac motion using
ultrafast ultrasound data. -- Our solution is based on a variational
formulation characterized by the L2-regularized class. The displacement is
represented by a lattice of b-splines and we ensure robustness by applying a
maximum likelihood type estimator. While this is an important part of our
solution, the main highlight of this paper is to combine a low-rank data
representation with topology preservation. Low-rank data representation
(achieved by finding the k-dominant singular values of a Casorati Matrix
arranged from the data sequence) speeds up the global solution and achieves
noise reduction. On the other hand, topology preservation (achieved by
monitoring the Jacobian determinant) allows to radically rule out distortions
while carefully controlling the size of allowed expansions and contractions.
Our variational approach is carried out on a realistic dataset as well as on a
simulated one. We demonstrate how our proposed variational solution deals with
complex deformations through careful numerical experiments. While maintaining
the accuracy of the solution, the low-rank preprocessing is shown to speed up
the convergence of the variational problem. Beyond cardiac motion estimation,
our approach is promising for the analysis of other organs that experience
motion.Comment: 15 pages, 10 figures, Physics in Medicine and Biology, 201
Head Tracking via Robust Registration in Texture Map Images
A novel method for 3D head tracking in the presence of large head rotations and facial expression changes is described. Tracking is formulated in terms of color image registration in the texture map of a 3D surface model. Model appearance is recursively updated via image mosaicking in the texture map as the head orientation varies. The resulting dynamic texture map provides a stabilized view of the face that can be used as input to many existing 2D techniques for face recognition, facial expressions analysis, lip reading, and eye tracking. Parameters are estimated via a robust minimization procedure; this provides robustness to occlusions, wrinkles, shadows, and specular highlights. The system was tested on a variety of sequences taken with low quality, uncalibrated video cameras. Experimental results are reported
Single conjugate adaptive optics for the ELT instrument METIS
The ELT is a 39m large, ground-based optical and near- to mid-infrared
telescope under construction in the Chilean Atacama desert. Operation is
planned to start around the middle of the next decade. All first light
instruments will come with wavefront sensing devices that allow control of the
ELT's intrinsic M4 and M5 wavefront correction units, thus building an adaptive
optics (AO) system. To take advantage of the ELT's optical performance, full
diffraction-limited operation is required and only a high performance AO system
can deliver this. Further technically challenging requirements for the AO come
from the exoplanet research field, where the task to resolve the very small
angular separations between host star and planet, has also to take into account
the high-contrast ratio between the two objects. We present in detail the
results of our simulations and their impact on high-contrast imaging in order
to find the optimal wavefront sensing device for the METIS instrument. METIS is
the mid-infrared imager and spectrograph for the ELT with specialised
high-contrast, coronagraphic imaging capabilities, whose performance strongly
depends on the AO residual wavefront errors. We examined the sky and target
sample coverage of a generic wavefront sensor in two spectral regimes, visible
and near-infrared, to pre-select the spectral range for the more detailed
wavefront sensor type analysis. We find that the near-infrared regime is the
most suitable for METIS. We then analysed the performance of Shack-Hartmann and
pyramid wavefront sensors under realistic conditions at the ELT, did a
balancing with our scientific requirements, and concluded that a pyramid
wavefront sensor is the best choice for METIS. For this choice we additionally
examined the impact of non-common path aberrations, of vibrations, and the
long-term stability of the SCAO system including high-contrast imaging
performance.Comment: 37 pages, 27 figures, accepted for publication in Experimental
Astronom
Most Likely Separation of Intensity and Warping Effects in Image Registration
This paper introduces a class of mixed-effects models for joint modeling of
spatially correlated intensity variation and warping variation in 2D images.
Spatially correlated intensity variation and warp variation are modeled as
random effects, resulting in a nonlinear mixed-effects model that enables
simultaneous estimation of template and model parameters by optimization of the
likelihood function. We propose an algorithm for fitting the model which
alternates estimation of variance parameters and image registration. This
approach avoids the potential estimation bias in the template estimate that
arises when treating registration as a preprocessing step. We apply the model
to datasets of facial images and 2D brain magnetic resonance images to
illustrate the simultaneous estimation and prediction of intensity and warp
effects
Longitudinal analysis of the developing rhesus monkey brain using magnetic resonance imaging: birth to adulthood.
We have longitudinally assessed normative brain growth patterns in naturalistically reared Macaca mulatta monkeys. Postnatal to early adulthood brain development in two cohorts of rhesus monkeys was analyzed using magnetic resonance imaging. Cohort A consisted of 24 rhesus monkeys (12 male, 12 female) and cohort B of 21 monkeys (11 male, 10 female). All subjects were scanned at 1, 4, 8, 13, 26, 39, and 52 weeks; cohort A had additional scans at 156 weeks (3 years) and 260 weeks (5 years). Age-specific segmentation templates were developed for automated volumetric analyses of the T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging scans. Trajectories of total brain size as well as cerebral and subcortical subdivisions were evaluated over this period. Total brain volume was about 64 % of adult estimates in the 1-week-old monkey. Brain volume of the male subjects was always, on average, larger than the female subjects. While brain volume generally increased between any two imaging time points, there was a transient plateau of brain growth between 26 and 39 weeks in both cohorts of monkeys. The trajectory of enlargement differed across cortical regions with the occipital cortex demonstrating the most idiosyncratic pattern of maturation and the frontal and temporal lobes showing the greatest and most protracted growth. A variety of allometric measurements were also acquired and body weight gain was most closely associated with the rate of brain growth. These findings provide a valuable baseline for the effects of fetal and early postnatal manipulations on the pattern of abnormal brain growth related to neurodevelopmental disorders
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