Object segregation in images
US6424732B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Dec 1, 1998 |
| Grant date | Jul 23, 2002 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Dec 1, 2018 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06T2207/30101
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
Segregating object images from an image is accomplished by a method that includes intensity thresholding and generating isolabel contour lines at image regions of constant image intensity. The shapes of the isolabel contours are quantified by calculating turning angle sequences. The turning angle sequences of contours compared to discern which contours to group and label as belonging to an object image. The method uses information obtained from intensity thresholding in combination with the inherent shapes of the object images to group isolabel contours and segregate the object images. The method is general and is used for segregating object images from continues images such as photographs and film. The method is extended to 3-dimensional image volumes and further includes modeling cross sections of object images as ellipses. An overlap criteria is used to group cross sectional object images in an images volume from 2-dimensional slices of the image volume. The method has applications in medical imaging and is particularly useful for segregating vessel tissue from an image volume, wherein the volume is constructed from digitized data acquisitions obtained using ultrasound, CT, and …
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.