1,103 research outputs found
Automated segmentation of tissue images for computerized IHC analysis
This paper presents two automated methods for the segmentation ofimmunohistochemical tissue images that overcome the limitations of themanual approach aswell as of the existing computerized techniques. The first independent method, based on unsupervised color clustering, recognizes automatically the target cancerous areas in the specimen and disregards the stroma; the second method, based on colors separation and morphological processing, exploits automated segmentation of the nuclear membranes of the cancerous cells. Extensive experimental results on real tissue images demonstrate the accuracy of our techniques compared to manual segmentations; additional experiments show that our techniques are more effective in immunohistochemical images than popular approaches based on supervised learning or active contours. The proposed procedure can be exploited for any applications that require tissues and cells exploration and to perform reliable and standardized measures of the activity of specific proteins involved in multi-factorial genetic pathologie
Geometrical-based algorithm for variational segmentation and smoothing of vector-valued images
An optimisation method based on a nonlinear functional is considered for segmentation and smoothing of vector-valued images. An edge-based approach is proposed to initially segment the image using geometrical properties such as metric tensor of the linearly smoothed image. The nonlinear functional is then minimised for each segmented region to yield the smoothed image. The functional is characterised with a unique solution in contrast with the MumfordâShah functional for vector-valued images. An operator for edge detection is introduced as a result of this unique solution. This operator is analytically calculated and its detection performance and localisation are then compared with those of the DroGoperator. The implementations are applied on colour images as examples of vector-valued images, and the results demonstrate robust performance in noisy environments
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
Localised states in an extended Swift-Hohenberg equation
Recent work on the behaviour of localised states in pattern forming partial
differential equations has focused on the traditional model Swift-Hohenberg
equation which, as a result of its simplicity, has additional structure --- it
is variational in time and conservative in space. In this paper we investigate
an extended Swift-Hohenberg equation in which non-variational and
non-conservative effects play a key role. Our work concentrates on aspects of
this much more complicated problem. Firstly we carry out the normal form
analysis of the initial pattern forming instability that leads to
small-amplitude localised states. Next we examine the bifurcation structure of
the large-amplitude localised states. Finally we investigate the temporal
stability of one-peak localised states. Throughout, we compare the localised
states in the extended Swift-Hohenberg equation with the analogous solutions to
the usual Swift-Hohenberg equation
A multi-scale evaluation of eastern hognose snake (Heterodon platirhinos) habitat selection at the northern extent of its range
A complex interaction of biotic and abiotic variables structure landscapes into a hierarchal assemblage of habitats. Species respond to this environmental hierarchy by selecting habitat based upon a set of ecological variables occurring across a range of organizational levels. However, as the criteria for selection may be scale-dependent, it is vital to quantify the influence these variables have on species distribution at each spatial scale. Two years of telemetry data from 17 individuals were used to examine the multi-scale selection process in the northern population of Heterodon platirhinos on the New Boston Air Force Station in New Boston, New Hampshire. Thermal quality, habitat structure, prey availability, and predator avoidance were predicted to be the primary influential variables dictating the selective process in these ectothermic organisms, with the thermal environment being of particular importance. Statistical comparisons and modeling results revealed that snakes were selective at all three spatial scales, with thermal extremes and habitat cover being the dominant influential variables. At the landscape level, mixed forest maintaining environmental temperatures above thermal minima (7.0°C) were highly selected whereas at the home-range level, hemlock forests that did not exceed thermal maxima (40.5°C) were preferred. Overall optimal habitat was identified as having the following characteristics: 1) mixed and hemlock forests having continuous canopy and understory architecture interspersed with fine-scale openings; 2) close proximity to wetlands; 3) high density of leaf litter, debris, and rocks; and 4) homogeneous surface temperatures within critical thermal limits. Together, this structural configuration likely maximizes thermoregulatory precision while still conferring the secondary biological needs of predator avoidance and suitable prey availability
Adaptive threshold optimisation for colour-based lip segmentation in automatic lip-reading systems
A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment,
University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in ful lment of the requirements for
the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
Johannesburg, September 2016Having survived the ordeal of a laryngectomy, the patient must come to terms with
the resulting loss of speech. With recent advances in portable computing power,
automatic lip-reading (ALR) may become a viable approach to voice restoration. This
thesis addresses the image processing aspect of ALR, and focuses three contributions
to colour-based lip segmentation.
The rst contribution concerns the colour transform to enhance the contrast
between the lips and skin. This thesis presents the most comprehensive study to
date by measuring the overlap between lip and skin histograms for 33 di erent
colour transforms. The hue component of HSV obtains the lowest overlap of 6:15%,
and results show that selecting the correct transform can increase the segmentation
accuracy by up to three times.
The second contribution is the development of a new lip segmentation algorithm
that utilises the best colour transforms from the comparative study. The algorithm
is tested on 895 images and achieves percentage overlap (OL) of 92:23% and segmentation
error (SE) of 7:39 %.
The third contribution focuses on the impact of the histogram threshold on the
segmentation accuracy, and introduces a novel technique called Adaptive Threshold
Optimisation (ATO) to select a better threshold value. The rst stage of ATO
incorporates -SVR to train the lip shape model. ATO then uses feedback of shape
information to validate and optimise the threshold. After applying ATO, the SE
decreases from 7:65% to 6:50%, corresponding to an absolute improvement of 1:15 pp
or relative improvement of 15:1%. While this thesis concerns lip segmentation in
particular, ATO is a threshold selection technique that can be used in various
segmentation applications.MT201
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