Dynamic scene analysis for vessel structure determination

Abstract

The authors describe a dynamic scene analysis system dedicated to determining the vessel paths followed by red blood cells in a sequence of laboratory images. Three descriptive mechanisms are used to yield a precise quantitative description of the vessel structure within the sequence of images. First, a pictorial description is produced which highlights the vessels against a black background in a binary image. Second, a description of the boundaries of the vessels is provided using a sequence of straight line segments fitted to the boundaries of the vessel structure. These straight line segments form a polygonal approximation to the shape of the vessel structure. Finally, a structural description is provided by obtaining the skeleton of the vessels' locations and their interconnections. Each point on the skeleton has a radius associated with it which details the width of the vessel structure at that point. Error measurements associated with the resultant vessel structure descriptions are discussed. >