215 research outputs found
Advances in Biologically Inspired Reservoir Computing
The interplay between randomness and optimization has always been a major theme in the design of neural networks [3]. In the last 15 years, the success of reservoir computing (RC) showed that, in many scenarios, the algebraic structure of the recurrent component is far more important than the precise fine-tuning of its weights. As long as the recurrent part of the network possesses a form of fading memory of the input, the dynamics of the neurons are enough to efficiently process many spatio-temporal signals, provided that their activations are sufficiently heterogeneous. Even if today it is feasible to fully optimize deep recurrent networks, their implementation still requires a vast degree of experience and practice, not to mention vast computational resources, limiting their applicability in simpler architectures (e.g., embedded systems) or in areas where time is of key importance (e.g., online systems). Not surprisingly, then, RC remains a powerful tool for quickly solving dynamical problems, and it has become an invaluable tool for modeling and analysis in neuroscience
Quantum Hamiltonian Learning Using Imperfect Quantum Resources
Identifying an accurate model for the dynamics of a quantum system is a
vexing problem that underlies a range of problems in experimental physics and
quantum information theory. Recently, a method called quantum Hamiltonian
learning has been proposed by the present authors that uses quantum simulation
as a resource for modeling an unknown quantum system. This approach can, under
certain circumstances, allow such models to be efficiently identified. A major
caveat of that work is the assumption of that all elements of the protocol are
noise-free. Here, we show that quantum Hamiltonian learning can tolerate
substantial amounts of depolarizing noise and show numerical evidence that it
can tolerate noise drawn from other realistic models. We further provide
evidence that the learning algorithm will find a model that is maximally close
to the true model in cases where the hypothetical model lacks terms present in
the true model. Finally, we also provide numerical evidence that the algorithm
works for non-commuting models. This work illustrates that quantum Hamiltonian
learning can be performed using realistic resources and suggests that even
imperfect quantum resources may be valuable for characterizing quantum systems.Comment: 16 pages 11 Figure
Biomedical applications of belief networks
Biomedicine is an area in which computers have long been expected to play a significant
role. Although many of the early claims have proved unrealistic, computers are gradually
becoming accepted in the biomedical, clinical and research environment. Within these
application areas, expert systems appear to have met with the most resistance, especially
when applied to image interpretation.In order to improve the acceptance of computerised decision support systems it is
necessary to provide the information needed to make rational judgements concerning
the inferences the system has made. This entails an explanation of what inferences
were made, how the inferences were made and how the results of the inference are to
be interpreted. Furthermore there must be a consistent approach to the combining of
information from low level computational processes through to high level expert analyses.nformation from low level computational processes through to high level expert analyses.
Until recently ad hoc formalisms were seen as the only tractable approach to reasoning
under uncertainty. A review of some of these formalisms suggests that they are less
than ideal for the purposes of decision making. Belief networks provide a tractable way
of utilising probability theory as an inference formalism by combining the theoretical
consistency of probability for inference and decision making, with the ability to use the
knowledge of domain experts.nowledge of domain experts.
The potential of belief networks in biomedical applications has already been recog¬
nised and there has been substantial research into the use of belief networks for medical
diagnosis and methods for handling large, interconnected networks. In this thesis the use
of belief networks is extended to include detailed image model matching to show how,
in principle, feature measurement can be undertaken in a fully probabilistic way. The
belief networks employed are usually cyclic and have strong influences between adjacent
nodes, so new techniques for probabilistic updating based on a model of the matching
process have been developed.An object-orientated inference shell called FLAPNet has been implemented and used
to apply the belief network formalism to two application domains. The first application is
model-based matching in fetal ultrasound images. The imaging modality and biological
variation in the subject make model matching a highly uncertain process. A dynamic,
deformable model, similar to active contour models, is used. A belief network combines
constraints derived from local evidence in the image, with global constraints derived from
trained models, to control the iterative refinement of an initial model cue.In the second application a belief network is used for the incremental aggregation of
evidence occurring during the classification of objects on a cervical smear slide as part of
an automated pre-screening system. A belief network provides both an explicit domain
model and a mechanism for the incremental aggregation of evidence, two attributes
important in pre-screening systems.Overall it is argued that belief networks combine the necessary quantitative features
required of a decision support system with desirable qualitative features that will lead
to improved acceptability of expert systems in the biomedical domain
Combining Shape and Learning for Medical Image Analysis
Automatic methods with the ability to make accurate, fast and robust assessments of medical images are highly requested in medical research and clinical care. Excellent automatic algorithms are characterized by speed, allowing for scalability, and an accuracy comparable to an expert radiologist. They should produce morphologically and physiologically plausible results while generalizing well to unseen and rare anatomies. Still, there are few, if any, applications where today\u27s automatic methods succeed to meet these requirements.\ua0The focus of this thesis is two tasks essential for enabling automatic medical image assessment, medical image segmentation and medical image registration. Medical image registration, i.e. aligning two separate medical images, is used as an important sub-routine in many image analysis tools as well as in image fusion, disease progress tracking and population statistics. Medical image segmentation, i.e. delineating anatomically or physiologically meaningful boundaries, is used for both diagnostic and visualization purposes in a wide range of applications, e.g. in computer-aided diagnosis and surgery.The thesis comprises five papers addressing medical image registration and/or segmentation for a diverse set of applications and modalities, i.e. pericardium segmentation in cardiac CTA, brain region parcellation in MRI, multi-organ segmentation in CT, heart ventricle segmentation in cardiac ultrasound and tau PET registration. The five papers propose competitive registration and segmentation methods enabled by machine learning techniques, e.g. random decision forests and convolutional neural networks, as well as by shape modelling, e.g. multi-atlas segmentation and conditional random fields
Interpreting recurrent neural networks behaviour via excitable network attractors
Introduction: Machine learning provides fundamental tools both for scientific
research and for the development of technologies with significant impact on
society. It provides methods that facilitate the discovery of regularities in
data and that give predictions without explicit knowledge of the rules
governing a system. However, a price is paid for exploiting such flexibility:
machine learning methods are typically black-boxes where it is difficult to
fully understand what the machine is doing or how it is operating. This poses
constraints on the applicability and explainability of such methods. Methods:
Our research aims to open the black-box of recurrent neural networks, an
important family of neural networks used for processing sequential data. We
propose a novel methodology that provides a mechanistic interpretation of
behaviour when solving a computational task. Our methodology uses mathematical
constructs called excitable network attractors, which are invariant sets in
phase space composed of stable attractors and excitable connections between
them. Results and Discussion: As the behaviour of recurrent neural networks
depends both on training and on inputs to the system, we introduce an algorithm
to extract network attractors directly from the trajectory of a neural network
while solving tasks. Simulations conducted on a controlled benchmark task
confirm the relevance of these attractors for interpreting the behaviour of
recurrent neural networks, at least for tasks that involve learning a finite
number of stable states and transitions between them.Comment: revised versio
Joint University Program for Air Transportation Research, 1988-1989
The research conducted during 1988 to 1989 under the NASA/FAA-sponsored Joint University Program for Air Transportation Research is summarized. The Joint University Program is a coordinated set of three grants sponsored by NASA Langley Research Center and the Federal Aviation Administration, one each with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Ohio University, and Princeton University. Completed works, status reports, and annotated bibliographies are presented for research topics, which include computer science, guidance and control theory and practice, aircraft performance, flight dynamics, and applied experimental psychology. An overview of the year's activities for each university is also presented
Pathwise Conditioning of Gaussian Processes
As Gaussian processes are used to answer increasingly complex questions,
analytic solutions become scarcer and scarcer. Monte Carlo methods act as a
convenient bridge for connecting intractable mathematical expressions with
actionable estimates via sampling. Conventional approaches for simulating
Gaussian process posteriors view samples as draws from marginal distributions
of process values at finite sets of input locations. This distribution-centric
characterization leads to generative strategies that scale cubically in the
size of the desired random vector. These methods are prohibitively expensive in
cases where we would, ideally, like to draw high-dimensional vectors or even
continuous sample paths. In this work, we investigate a different line of
reasoning: rather than focusing on distributions, we articulate Gaussian
conditionals at the level of random variables. We show how this pathwise
interpretation of conditioning gives rise to a general family of approximations
that lend themselves to efficiently sampling Gaussian process posteriors.
Starting from first principles, we derive these methods and analyze the
approximation errors they introduce. We, then, ground these results by
exploring the practical implications of pathwise conditioning in various
applied settings, such as global optimization and reinforcement learning
Bayesian inference for structured additive regression models for large-scale problems with applications to medical imaging
In der angewandten Statistik können Regressionsmodelle mit hochdimensionalen Koeffizienten auftreten, die sich nicht mit gewöhnlichen Computersystemen schätzen lassen. Dies betrifft unter anderem die Analyse digitaler Bilder unter Berücksichtigung räumlich-zeitlicher Abhängigkeiten, wie sie innerhalb der medizinisch-biologischen Forschung häufig vorkommen.
In der vorliegenden Arbeit wird ein Verfahren formuliert, das in der
Lage ist, Regressionsmodelle mit hochdimensionalen Koeffizienten und nicht-normalverteilten Zielgrößen unter moderaten Anforderungen an die benötigte Hardware zu schätzen. Hierzu wird zunächst im Rahmen strukturiert additiver Regressionsmodelle aufgezeigt, worin die Limitationen aktueller Inferenzansätze bei der Anwendung auf hochdimensionale Problemstellungen liegen, sowie Möglichkeiten diskutiert, diese zu umgehen. Darauf basierend wird ein Algorithmus formuliert, dessen Stärken und Schwächen anhand von Simulationsstudien analysiert werden. Darüber hinaus findet das Verfahren Anwendung in drei verschiedenen Bereichen der medizinisch-biologischen Bildgebung und zeigt dadurch, dass es ein vielversprechender Kandidat für die Beantwortung hochdimensionaler Fragestellungen ist.In applied statistics regression models with high-dimensional
coefficients can occur which cannot be estimated using ordinary computers. Amongst others, this applies to the analysis of digital images taking spatio-temporal dependencies into account as they commonly occur within bio-medical research.
In this thesis a procedure is formulated which allows to fit regression
models with high-dimensional coefficients and non-normal response
values requiring only moderate computational equipment. To this end, limitations of different inference strategies for structured additive regression models are demonstrated when applied to high-dimensional problems and possible solutions are discussed. Based thereon an algorithm is formulated whose strengths and weaknesses are subsequently analyzed using simulation studies. Furthermore, the procedure is applied to three different fields of bio-medical imaging from which can be concluded that the algorithm is a promising candidate for answering high-dimensional problems
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