3,095 research outputs found
Retinal Vessel Segmentation Using the 2-D Morlet Wavelet and Supervised Classification
We present a method for automated segmentation of the vasculature in retinal
images. The method produces segmentations by classifying each image pixel as
vessel or non-vessel, based on the pixel's feature vector. Feature vectors are
composed of the pixel's intensity and continuous two-dimensional Morlet wavelet
transform responses taken at multiple scales. The Morlet wavelet is capable of
tuning to specific frequencies, thus allowing noise filtering and vessel
enhancement in a single step. We use a Bayesian classifier with
class-conditional probability density functions (likelihoods) described as
Gaussian mixtures, yielding a fast classification, while being able to model
complex decision surfaces and compare its performance with the linear minimum
squared error classifier. The probability distributions are estimated based on
a training set of labeled pixels obtained from manual segmentations. The
method's performance is evaluated on publicly available DRIVE and STARE
databases of manually labeled non-mydriatic images. On the DRIVE database, it
achieves an area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve of
0.9598, being slightly superior than that presented by the method of Staal et
al.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figures and 1 table. Accepted for publication in IEEE
Trans Med Imag; added copyright notic
Reliability-based design optimization using kriging surrogates and subset simulation
The aim of the present paper is to develop a strategy for solving
reliability-based design optimization (RBDO) problems that remains applicable
when the performance models are expensive to evaluate. Starting with the
premise that simulation-based approaches are not affordable for such problems,
and that the most-probable-failure-point-based approaches do not permit to
quantify the error on the estimation of the failure probability, an approach
based on both metamodels and advanced simulation techniques is explored. The
kriging metamodeling technique is chosen in order to surrogate the performance
functions because it allows one to genuinely quantify the surrogate error. The
surrogate error onto the limit-state surfaces is propagated to the failure
probabilities estimates in order to provide an empirical error measure. This
error is then sequentially reduced by means of a population-based adaptive
refinement technique until the kriging surrogates are accurate enough for
reliability analysis. This original refinement strategy makes it possible to
add several observations in the design of experiments at the same time.
Reliability and reliability sensitivity analyses are performed by means of the
subset simulation technique for the sake of numerical efficiency. The adaptive
surrogate-based strategy for reliability estimation is finally involved into a
classical gradient-based optimization algorithm in order to solve the RBDO
problem. The kriging surrogates are built in a so-called augmented reliability
space thus making them reusable from one nested RBDO iteration to the other.
The strategy is compared to other approaches available in the literature on
three academic examples in the field of structural mechanics.Comment: 20 pages, 6 figures, 5 tables. Preprint submitted to Springer-Verla
Reliability-based design optimization of shells with uncertain geometry using adaptive Kriging metamodels
Optimal design under uncertainty has gained much attention in the past ten
years due to the ever increasing need for manufacturers to build robust systems
at the lowest cost. Reliability-based design optimization (RBDO) allows the
analyst to minimize some cost function while ensuring some minimal performances
cast as admissible failure probabilities for a set of performance functions. In
order to address real-world engineering problems in which the performance is
assessed through computational models (e.g., finite element models in
structural mechanics) metamodeling techniques have been developed in the past
decade. This paper introduces adaptive Kriging surrogate models to solve the
RBDO problem. The latter is cast in an augmented space that "sums up" the range
of the design space and the aleatory uncertainty in the design parameters and
the environmental conditions. The surrogate model is used (i) for evaluating
robust estimates of the failure probabilities (and for enhancing the
computational experimental design by adaptive sampling) in order to achieve the
requested accuracy and (ii) for applying a gradient-based optimization
algorithm to get optimal values of the design parameters. The approach is
applied to the optimal design of ring-stiffened cylindrical shells used in
submarine engineering under uncertain geometric imperfections. For this
application the performance of the structure is related to buckling which is
addressed here by means of a finite element solution based on the asymptotic
numerical method
Direct illumination calibration of telescopes at the quantum precision limit
The electronic response of a telescope under direct illumination by a
point-like light source is based on photon counting. With the data obtained
using the SNDICE light source and the Megacam camera on the CFHT telescope, we
show that the ultimate precision is only limited by the photon statistical
fluctuation, which is below 1 ppm. A key feature of the analysis is the
incorporation of diffuse light that interferes with specularly reflected light
in the transmission model to explain the observed diffraction patterns. The
effect of diffuse light, usually hidden conveniently in the Strehl ratio for an
object at infinity, is characterized with a precision of 10 ppm. In particular,
the spatial frequency representation provides some strong physical constraints
and a practical monitoring of the roughness of various optical surfaces.Comment: accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysic
Metamodel-based importance sampling for structural reliability analysis
Structural reliability methods aim at computing the probability of failure of
systems with respect to some prescribed performance functions. In modern
engineering such functions usually resort to running an expensive-to-evaluate
computational model (e.g. a finite element model). In this respect simulation
methods, which may require runs cannot be used directly. Surrogate
models such as quadratic response surfaces, polynomial chaos expansions or
kriging (which are built from a limited number of runs of the original model)
are then introduced as a substitute of the original model to cope with the
computational cost. In practice it is almost impossible to quantify the error
made by this substitution though. In this paper we propose to use a kriging
surrogate of the performance function as a means to build a quasi-optimal
importance sampling density. The probability of failure is eventually obtained
as the product of an augmented probability computed by substituting the
meta-model for the original performance function and a correction term which
ensures that there is no bias in the estimation even if the meta-model is not
fully accurate. The approach is applied to analytical and finite element
reliability problems and proves efficient up to 100 random variables.Comment: 20 pages, 7 figures, 2 tables. Preprint submitted to Probabilistic
Engineering Mechanic
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