Abstract- Shape modeling is an important constituent of computer vision as well as computer graphics research. Shape models aid the tasks of object representation and recognition. This paper presents a new approach to shape modeling which re-tains some of the attractive features of existing methods and over-comes some of their limitations. Our techniques can be applied to model arbitrarily complex shapes, which include shapes with significant protrusions, and to situations where no a priori as-sumption about the object’s topology is made. A single instance of our model, when presented with an image having more than one object of interest, has the ability to split freely to represent each object. This method is based on the ideas developed by Osher and Sethian to model propagating solidhiquid interfaces with curva-ture-dependent speeds. The interface (front) is a closed, noninter-secting, hypersurface flowing along its gradient field with con-stant speed or a speed that depends on the curvature. It is moved by solving a “Hamilton-Jacob? ’ type equation written for a func-tion in which the interface is a particular level set. A speed term synthesizpd from the image is used to stop the interface in the vi-cinity of object boundaries. The resulting equation of motion is solved by employing entropy-satisfying upwind finite difference schemes. We present a variety of ways of computing evolving front, including narrow bands, reinitializations, and different stopping criteria. The efficacy of the scheme is demonstrated with numerical experiments on some synthesized images and some low contrast medical images. Index Terms- Shape modeling, shape recovery, interface mo-tion, level sets, hyperbolic conservation laws, Hamilton-Jacobi

In this note, we analyze the geometric active contour models proposed in [10, 31] from a curve evolution point of view and propose some modifications based on gradient flows relative to certain new metrics. This leads to a novel snake paradigm in which the feature of interest may be considered to lie at the bottom of a potential well. Thus the snake is attracted very naturally and efficiently to the desired feature. Moreover, we consider some 3-D active surface models based on these ideas. Key words: Active vision, shape and object representation, object recognition, active contours, snakes, visual tracking, edge detection, segmentation, gradient flows, Riemannian metrics, geometric heat equations, curve and surface evolution. Gradient Flows and Geometric Active Contour Models Abstract In this note, we analyze the geometric active contour models proposed in [10, 31] from a curve evolution point of view and propose some modifications based on gradient flows relative to certain new m...

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In this paper, we analyze geometric active contour models from a curve evolution point of view and propose some modifications based on gradient flows relative to certain new feature-based Riemannian metrics. This leads to a novel edge-detection paradigm in which the feature of interest may be considered to lie at the bottom of a potential well. Thus an edge-seeking curve is attracted very naturally and efficiently to the desired feature. Comparison with the Allen-Cahn model clarifies some of the choices made in these models, and suggests inhomogeneous models which may in return be useful in phase transitions. We also consider some 3-D active surface models based on these ideas. The justification of this model rests on the careful study of the viscosity solutions of evolution equations derived from a level-set approach. Key words: Active vision, antiphase boundary, visual tracking, edge detection, segmentation, gradient flows, Riemannian metrics, viscosity solutions, geometric heat equ...

Abstract — In this note, we employ the new geometric active contour models formulated in [25] and [26] for edge detection and segmentation of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography (CT), and ultrasound medical imagery. Our method is based on defining feature-based metrics on a given image which in turn leads to a novel snake paradigm in which the feature of interest may be considered to lie at the bottom of a potential well. Thus, the snake is attracted very quickly and efficiently to the desired feature. Index Terms — Active contours, active vision, edge detection, gradient flows, segmentation, snakes. I.

Several geometric active contour models have been proposed for segmentation in computer vision and image analysis. The essential idea is to evolve a curve (in 2D) or a surface (in 3D) under constraints from image forces so that it clings to features of interest in an intensity image. Recent variations on this theme take into account properties of enclosed regions and allow for multiple curves or surfaces to be simultaneously represented. However, it is still unclear how to apply these techniques to images of narrow elongated structures, such as blood vessels, where intensity contrast may be low and reliable region statistics cannot be computed. To address this problem we derive the gradient flows which maximize the rate of increase of flux of an appropriate vector field through a curve (in 2D) or a surface (in 3D). The key idea is to exploit the direction of the vector field along with its magnitude. The calculations lead to a simple and elegant interpretation which is essentially parameter free and has the same form in both dimensions. We illustrate its advantages with several level-set based segmentations of 2D and 3D angiography images of blood vessels.

A number of active contour models have been proposed which unify the curve evolution framework with classical energy minimization techniques for segmentation, such as snakes. The essential idea is to evolve a curve (in 2D) or a surface (in 3D) under constraints from image forces so that it clings to features of interest in an intensity image. Recently the evolution equation has been derived from first principles as the gradient flow that minimizes a modified length functional, tailored to features such as edges. However, because the flow may be slow to converge in practice, a constant (hyperbolic) term is added to keep the curve/surface moving in the desired direction. In this paper, we derive a modification of this term based on the gradient flow derived from a weighted area functional, with image dependent weighting factor. When combined with the earlier modified length gradient flow we obtain a pde which offers a number of advantages, as illustrated by several examples of shape segm...

The use of shape as a cue for indexing into pictorial databases has been traditionally based on global invariant statistics and deformable templates, on the one hand, and local edge correlation on the other. This paper proposes an intermediate approach based on a characterization of the symmetry in edge maps. The use of symmetry matching as a joint correlation measure between pairs of edge elements further constrains the comparison of edge maps. In addition, a natural organization of groups of symmetry into a hierarchy leads to a graph-based representation of relational structure of components of shape that allows for deformations by changing attributes of this relational graph. A graduate assignment graph matching algorithm is used to match symmetry structure in images to stored prototypes or sketches. The results of matching sketches and grey-scale images against a small database consisting of a variety of fish, planes, tools, etc., are depicted.

We undertake to develop a general theory of two-dimensional shape by elucidating several principles which any such theory should meet. The principles are organized around two basic intuitions: first, if a boundary were changed only slightly, then, in general, its shape would change only slightly. This leads us to propose an operational theory of shape based on incremental contour deformations. The second intuition is that not all contours are shapes, but rather only those that can enclose "physical" material. A theory of contour deformation is derived from these principles, based on abstract conservation principles and Hamilton-Jacobi theory. These principles are based on the work of Sethian [82, 86], the Osher-Sethian level set formulation [65], the classical shock theory of Lax [53, 54], as well as curve evolution theory for a curve evolving as a function of the curvature and the relation to geometric smoothing of Gage-Hamilton-Grayson [32, 37]. The result is a characterization of th...

The completion of interrupted lines or the enhancement of flow-like structures is a challenging task in computer vision, human vision, and image processing. We address this problem by presenting a multiscale method in which a nonlinear diffusion filter is steered by the so-called interest operator (second-moment matrix, structure tensor). An m-dimensional formulation of this method is analysed with respect to its well-posedness and scale-space properties. An efficient scheme is presented which uses a stabilization by a semi-implicit additive operator splitting (AOS), and the scale-space behaviour of this method is illustrated by applying it to both 2-D and 3-D images.