Region-based 2D deformable generalized cylinder for narrow structures segmentation

Abstract

In this paper, we present a region-based deformable cylinder model, extending the work on classical region-based active contours and gradient-based ribbon snakes. Defined by a central curve playing the role of the medial axis and a variable thickness, the model is endowed with a region-dependent term.This energy follows the narrow band principle, in order to handle local region properties while overcoming limitations of classical edge-based models. The energy is subsequently transformed and derived in order to allow implementation on a polygonal line deformed with gradient descent. The model is used to extract path-like objects in medical and aerial images. © 2008 Springer Berlin Heidelberg.