A survey of fuzzy rule-based image segmentation techniques

This paper describes the various fuzzy rule based techniques for image segmentation. Fuzzy rule based segmentation techniques can incorporate domain expert knowledge and manipulate numerical as well as linguistic data. They are also capable of drawing partial inference using fuzzy IF-THEN rules. For these reasons they have been extensively applied in medical imaging. But these rules are application domain specific and it is very difficult to define the rules either manually or automatically so that the segementation can be achieved successfully

Combining Neuro-Fuzzy Classifiers for Improved Generalisation and Reliability

In this paper a combination of neuro-fuzzy classifiers for improved classification performance and reliability is considered. A general fuzzy min-max (GFMM) classifier with agglomerative learning algorithm is used as a main building block. An alternative approach to combining individual classifier decisions involving the combination at the classifier model level is proposed. The resulting classifier complexity and transparency is comparable with classifiers generated during a single crossvalidation procedure while the improved classification performance and reduced variance is comparable to the ensemble of classifiers with combined (averaged/voted) decisions. We also illustrate how combining at the model level can be used for speeding up the training of GFMM classifiers for large data sets

Automated detection of brain abnormalities in neonatal hypoxia ischemic injury from MR images.

We compared the efficacy of three automated brain injury detection methods, namely symmetry-integrated region growing (SIRG), hierarchical region splitting (HRS) and modified watershed segmentation (MWS) in human and animal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) datasets for the detection of hypoxic ischemic injuries (HIIs). Diffusion weighted imaging (DWI, 1.5T) data from neonatal arterial ischemic stroke (AIS) patients, as well as T2-weighted imaging (T2WI, 11.7T, 4.7T) at seven different time-points (1, 4, 7, 10, 17, 24 and 31 days post HII) in rat-pup model of hypoxic ischemic injury were used to assess the temporal efficacy of our computational approaches. Sensitivity, specificity, and similarity were used as performance metrics based on manual ('gold standard') injury detection to quantify comparisons. When compared to the manual gold standard, automated injury location results from SIRG performed the best in 62% of the data, while 29% for HRS and 9% for MWS. Injury severity detection revealed that SIRG performed the best in 67% cases while 33% for HRS. Prior information is required by HRS and MWS, but not by SIRG. However, SIRG is sensitive to parameter-tuning, while HRS and MWS are not. Among these methods, SIRG performs the best in detecting lesion volumes; HRS is the most robust, while MWS lags behind in both respects

Segmentation and classification of individual tree crowns

By segmentation and classification of individual tree crowns in high spatial resolution aerial images, information about the forest can be automatically extracted. Segmentation is about finding the individual tree crowns and giving each of them a unique label. Classification, on the other hand, is about recognising the species of the tree. The information of each individual tree in the forest increases the knowledge about the forest which can be useful for managements, biodiversity assessment, etc. Different algorithms for segmenting individual tree crowns are presented and also compared to each other in order to find their strengths and weaknesses. All segmentation algorithms developed in this thesis focus on preserving the shape of the tree crown. Regions, representing the segmented tree crowns, grow according to certain rules from seed points. One method starts from many regions for each tree crown and searches for the region that fits the tree crown best. The other methods start from a set of seed points, representing the locations of the tree crowns, to create the regions. The segmentation result varies from 73 to 95 % correctly segmented visual tree crowns depending on the type of forest and the method. The former value is for a naturally generated mixed forest and the latter for a non-mixed forest. The classification method presented uses shape information of the segments and colour information of the corresponding tree crown in order to decide the species. The classification method classifies 77 % of the visual trees correctly in a naturally generated mixed forest, but on a forest stand level the classification is over 90 %

S-TREE: Self-Organizing Trees for Data Clustering and Online Vector Quantization

This paper introduces S-TREE (Self-Organizing Tree), a family of models that use unsupervised learning to construct hierarchical representations of data and online tree-structured vector quantizers. The S-TREE1 model, which features a new tree-building algorithm, can be implemented with various cost functions. An alternative implementation, S-TREE2, which uses a new double-path search procedure, is also developed. S-TREE2 implements an online procedure that approximates an optimal (unstructured) clustering solution while imposing a tree-structure constraint. The performance of the S-TREE algorithms is illustrated with data clustering and vector quantization examples, including a Gauss-Markov source benchmark and an image compression application. S-TREE performance on these tasks is compared with the standard tree-structured vector quantizer (TSVQ) and the generalized Lloyd algorithm (GLA). The image reconstruction quality with S-TREE2 approaches that of GLA while taking less than 10% of computer time. S-TREE1 and S-TREE2 also compare favorably with the standard TSVQ in both the time needed to create the codebook and the quality of image reconstruction.Office of Naval Research (N00014-95-10409, N00014-95-0G57

Improvements on coronal hole detection in SDO/AIA images using supervised classification

We demonstrate the use of machine learning algorithms in combination with segmentation techniques in order to distinguish coronal holes and filaments in SDO/AIA EUV images of the Sun. Based on two coronal hole detection techniques (intensity-based thresholding, SPoCA), we prepared data sets of manually labeled coronal hole and filament channel regions present on the Sun during the time range 2011 - 2013. By mapping the extracted regions from EUV observations onto HMI line-of-sight magnetograms we also include their magnetic characteristics. We computed shape measures from the segmented binary maps as well as first order and second order texture statistics from the segmented regions in the EUV images and magnetograms. These attributes were used for data mining investigations to identify the most performant rule to differentiate between coronal holes and filament channels. We applied several classifiers, namely Support Vector Machine, Linear Support Vector Machine, Decision Tree, and Random Forest and found that all classification rules achieve good results in general, with linear SVM providing the best performances (with a true skill statistic of ~0.90). Additional information from magnetic field data systematically improves the performance across all four classifiers for the SPoCA detection. Since the calculation is inexpensive in computing time, this approach is well suited for applications on real-time data. This study demonstrates how a machine learning approach may help improve upon an unsupervised feature extraction method.Comment: in press for SWS

A survey on utilization of data mining approaches for dermatological (skin) diseases prediction

Due to recent technology advances, large volumes of medical data is obtained. These data contain valuable information. Therefore data mining techniques can be used to extract useful patterns. This paper is intended to introduce data mining and its various techniques and a survey of the available literature on medical data mining. We emphasize mainly on the application of data mining on skin diseases. A categorization has been provided based on the different data mining techniques. The utility of the various data mining methodologies is highlighted. Generally association mining is suitable for extracting rules. It has been used especially in cancer diagnosis. Classification is a robust method in medical mining. In this paper, we have summarized the different uses of classification in dermatology. It is one of the most important methods for diagnosis of erythemato-squamous diseases. There are different methods like Neural Networks, Genetic Algorithms and fuzzy classifiaction in this topic. Clustering is a useful method in medical images mining. The purpose of clustering techniques is to find a structure for the given data by finding similarities between data according to data characteristics. Clustering has some applications in dermatology. Besides introducing different mining methods, we have investigated some challenges which exist in mining skin data

Markov mezők a képmodellezésben, alkalmazásuk az automatikus képszegmentálás területén = Markovian Image Models: Applications in Unsupervised Image Segmentation

1) Kifejlesztettünk egy olyan szín és textúra alapú szegmentáló MRF algoritmust, amely alkalmas egy kép automatikus szegmentálását elvégezni. Az eredményeinket az Image and Vision Computing folyóiratban publikáltuk. 2) Kifejlesztettünk egy Reversible Jump Markov Chain Monte Carlo technikán alapuló automatikus képszegmentáló eljárást, melyet sikeresen alkalmaztunk színes képek teljesen automatikus szegmentálására. Az eredményeinket a BMVC 2004 konferencián és az Image and Vision Computing folyóiratban publikáltuk. 3) A modell többrétegű továbbfejlesztését alkalmaztuk video objektumok szín és mozgás alapú szegmentálására, melynek eredményeit a HACIPPR 2005 illetve az ACCV 2006 nemzetközi konferenciákon publikáltuk. Szintén ehhez az alapproblémához kapcsolódik Horváth Péter hallgatómmal az optic flow szamításával illetve szín, textúra és mozgás alapú GVF aktív kontúrral kapcsoltos munkáink. TDK dolgozata első helyezést ért el a 2004-es helyi versenyen, az eredményeinket pedig a KEPAF 2004 konferencián publikáltuk. 4) Horváth Péter PhD hallgatómmal illetve az franciaországi INRIA Ariana csoportjával, kidolgoztunk egy olyan képszegmentáló eljárást, amely a szegmentálandó objektum alakját is figyelembe veszi. Az eredményeinket az ICPR 2006 illetve az ICCVGIP 2006 konferencián foglaltuk össze. A modell előzményeként kidolgoztunk továbbá egy alakzat-momemntumokon alapuló aktív kontúr modellt, amelyet a HACIPPR 2005 konferencián publikáltunk. | 1) We have proposed a monogrid MRF model which is able to combine color and texture features in order to improve the quality of segmentation results. We have also solved the estimation of model parameters. This work has been published in the Image and Vision Computing journal. 2) We have proposed an RJMCMC sampling method which is able to identify multi-dimensional Gaussian mixtures. Using this technique, we have developed a fully automatic color image segmentation algorithm. Our results have been published at BMVC 2004 international conference and in the Image and Vision Computing journal. 3) A new multilayer MRF model has been proposed which is able to segment an image based on multiple cues (such as color, texture, or motion). This work has been published at HACIPPR 2005 and ACCV 2006 international conferences. The work on optic flow computation and color-, texture-, and motion-based GVF active contours doen with my student, Mr. Peter Horvath, won a first price at the local Student Research Competition in 2004. Results have been presented at KEPAF 2004 conference. 4) A new shape prior, called 'gas of circles' has been introduced using active contour models. This work is done in collaboration with the Ariana group of INRIA, France and my PhD student, Mr. Peter Horvath. Results are published at the ICPR 2006 and ICCVGIP 2006 conferences. A preliminary study on active contour models using shape-moments has also been done, these results are published at HACIPPR 2005