Spectral imaging is an important method that is used for a whole spectrum of applications, but measuring very large spectral images is a challenge that so far was not achieved. We present a novel system for scanning very large spectral images of microscopy samples in a rather short time. The system captures the information while the sample is continuously being scanned on the fly. It therefore breaks the size and speed limits that resulted from existing spectral imaging methods. The spectral separation is achieved through Fourier spectroscopy by using an interferometer mounted along the optical axis (no moving parts). We describe the system and its use for pathological samples.
Recent advances in Diffusion Weighted Magnetic Resonance Imaging (DW-MRI) of white matter in conjunction with improved tractography produce impressive reconstructions of White Matter (WM) pathways. These pathways (fiber sets) often contain hundreds of thousands of fibers, or more. In order to make fiber based analysis more practical, the fiber set needs to be preprocessed to eliminate redundancies and to keep only essential representative fibers. In this paper we demonstrate and compare two distinctive frameworks for selecting this reduced set of fibers. The first framework entails pre-clustering the fibers using k-means, followed by Hierarchical Clustering and replacing each cluster with one representative. For the second clustering stage seven distance metrics were evaluated. The second framework is based on an efficient geometric approximation paradigm named coresets. Coresets present a new approach to optimization and have huge success especially in tasks requiring large computation time and/or memory. We propose a modified version of the coresets algorithm, Density Coreset. It is used for extracting the main fibers from dense datasets, leaving a small set that represents the main structures and connectivity of the brain. A novel approach, based on a 3D indicator structure, is used for comparing the frameworks. This comparison was applied to High Angular Resolution Diffusion Imaging (HARDI) scans of 4 healthy individuals. We show that among the clustering based methods, that cosine distance gives the best performance. In comparing the clustering schemes with coresets, Density Coreset method achieves the best performance.
A novel framework for automatic detection of pneumothorax abnormality in chest radiographs is presented. The suggested method is based on a texture analysis approach combined with supervised learning techniques. The proposed framework consists of two main steps: at first, a texture analysis process is performed for detection of local abnormalities. Labeled image patches are extracted in the texture analysis procedure following which local analysis values are incorporated into a novel global image representation. The global representation is used for training and detection of the abnormality at the image level. The presented global representation is designed based on the distinctive shape of the lung, taking into account the characteristics of typical pneumothorax abnormalities. A supervised learning process was performed on both the local and global data, leading to trained detection system. The system was tested on a dataset of 108 upright chest radiographs. Several state of the art texture feature sets were experimented with (Local Binary Patterns, Maximum Response filters). The optimal configuration yielded sensitivity of 81% with specificity of 87%. The results of the evaluation are promising, establishing the current framework as a basis for additional improvements and extensions.
Specular reflections strongly affect the appearance of images, and
usually hinder the computer vision algorithms applied to them.
This is particularly the case with uterine cervix images. The
highlights created by specular reflections are a major obstacle in
the way of automatic segmentation of such images. We propose a
method for the detection of specularities in cervix images that
utilizes intensity, saturation and gradient information. A
two-stage segmentation process is proposed for the identification
of highlights. First, coarse regions that contain the reflections
are defined. Second, probabilistic modeling and segmentation is
used to achieve a precise segmentation inside the coarse regions.
The resulting regions are filled by propagating the surrounding
color information. The efficiency of the method for cervix images
is demonstrated.
This work is motivated by the need for visual information extraction and management in the growing field of medical image archives. In particular the work focuses on a unique medical repository of digital cervicographic images ("Cervigrams") collected by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in a longitudinal multi-year study carried out in Guanacaste, Costa Rica. NCI together with the National Library of Medicine (NLM) is developing a unique Web-based database of the digitized cervix images to study the evolution of lesions related to cervical cancer. Such a database requires specific tools that can analyze the cervigram content and represent it in a way that can be efficiently searched and compared. We present a multi-step scheme for segmenting and labeling regions of medical and anatomical interest within the cervigram, utilizing statistical tools and adequate features. The multi-step structure is motivated by the large diversity of the images within the database. The algorithm identifies the cervix region within the image. It than separates the cervix region into three main tissue types: the columnar epithelium (CE), the squamous epithelium (SE), and the acetowhite (AW), which is visible for a short time following the application of acetic acid. The algorithm is developed and tested on a subset of 120 cervigrams that were manually labeled by NCI experts. Initial segmentation results are presented and evaluated.
Access to the requested content is limited to institutions that have purchased or subscribe to SPIE eBooks.
You are receiving this notice because your organization may not have SPIE eBooks access.*
*Shibboleth/Open Athens users─please
sign in
to access your institution's subscriptions.
To obtain this item, you may purchase the complete book in print or electronic format on
SPIE.org.
INSTITUTIONAL Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.
PERSONAL Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.