Morphological Image Analysis Research Articles

A New European Settlement Map From Optical Remotely Sensed Data

An application of a general methodology for processing very high-resolution imagery to produce a European Settlement Map (ESM) in support of policy-makers is presented. The process mapped around 10 million ${\text{km}}^{2}$ of the European continent. The input image data are satellite SPOT-5/6 pan-sharpened multispectral images of 2.5- and 1.5-m spatial resolution, respectively. This is the first time that remote sensing technology demonstrates capability to produce a continental information layer using 2.5-m input images. Moreover, it is the highest resolution continental map produced so far. The presented workflow is data-driven and consists in fully automatic image information extraction based on textural and morphological image analysis. The learning method allows the processing of high-resolution image data using coarse resolution thematic layers as reference. Validation shows an overall accuracy of 96% with omission and commission errors less than 4% and 1%, respectively.

Nanostructure characterization of carbide-derived carbons by morphological analysis of transmission electron microscopy images combined with physisorption and Raman spectroscopy

A novel image processing method based on mathematical morphology is applied in order to characterize the nanostructure of carbide-derived carbons (CDCs) observed using high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). The analysis provides information about the shape and disordered arrangement of the defective polyaromatic units forming the CDC nanostructure. Individual fringes, basic structural units, and continuous domains are analysed. Hierarchical polycarbosilane-based CDCs obtained at different pyrolysis/chlorination temperatures are investigated. The information collected is interpreted with respect to the different synthesis conditions. This analysis is supported by Raman spectroscopy measurements and porosity evaluation with nitrogen (−196 °C) and carbon dioxide (0 °C) physisorption. The CDCs show only minor differences in the carbon nanostructures. The HRTEM image analysis is sensitive enough to illuminate the slight variations. An increase in carbon ordering at higher synthesis temperature and a rather folded structure with higher tortuosity of the fringes with increasing micropore volume is observed. These findings are complementary to the data obtained from nitrogen and carbon dioxide physisorption experiments as well as from Raman spectroscopy, showing a less defective microstructure of the CDCs prepared at higher pyrolysis/chlorination temperatures. The results also prove the precise control over the nanostructure of CDCs provided by the synthesis temperature.

Automatic Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm segmentation in MR images

Abdominal Aortic Aneurism is a disease related to a weakening in the aortic wall that can cause a break in the aorta and the death. The detection of an unusual dilatation of a section of the aorta is an indicative of this disease. However, it is difficult to diagnose because it is necessary image diagnosis using computed tomography or magnetic resonance. An automatic diagnosis system would allow to analyze abdominal magnetic resonance images and to warn doctors if any anomaly is detected. We focus our research in magnetic resonance images because of the absence of ionizing radiation. Although there are proposals to identify this disease in magnetic resonance images, they need an intervention from clinicians to be precise and some of them are computationally hard. In this paper we develop a novel approach to analyze magnetic resonance abdominal images and detect the lumen and the aortic wall. The method combines different algorithms in two stages to improve the detection and the segmentation so it can be applied to similar problems with other type of images or structures. In a first stage, we use a spatial fuzzy C-means algorithm with morphological image analysis to detect and segment the lumen; and subsequently, in a second stage, we apply a graph cut algorithm to segment the aortic wall. The obtained results in the analyzed images are pretty successful obtaining an average of 79% of overlapping between the automatic segmentation provided by our method and the aortic wall identified by a medical specialist. The main impact of the proposed method is that it works in a completely automatic way with a low computational cost, which is of great significance for any expert and intelligent system.

Estimation of reliability of linear point structures revealed in two-dimensional distributions of experimental data

In the experiments at the FOBOS spectrometer [1] dedicated to study the spontaneous fission of the 248Cm and 252Cf nuclei in the mass correlation distribution of fission fragments new unusual structures bounded by magic clusters were observed for the first time. The structures were interpreted as a manifestation of a new exotic decay called collinear cluster tri-partition (CCT). These pioneer results were confirmed and detailed later in the series of experiments at different time-of-flight spectrometers [2]. Interpretation of the results obtained needs estimation of the statistical reliability of the structures mentioned above. The report presents the results of the solution to the problem of statistical reliability estimation on the basis of morphological image analysis [3].

Evolution of physicochemical, morphological and aromatic characteristics of Italian PDO dry-cured hams during processing

The aim of this work was to follow the evolution of physicochemical (dry matter, NaCl concentration, pH, water activity), morphological (image analysis) and aromatic (e-nose) characteristics of the three main Italian PDOs during processing, from slaughtering to end of ripening. Main phenomena distinguishing the PDOs are NaCl concentration increase, which is higher in Toscano than in Parma and San Daniele hams, starting from the salting phase. Water activity values decrease during processing, and the lowest values are detected in Toscano ham. Changes in morphological parameters (area, shape) and in color progressively occur during processing and are more pronounced in Toscano ham. A clear evolution of aroma of the three PDOs has been observed by e-nose, and the complexity of the aromatic profile of the ripened hams is clearly highlighted.

Quantitative tests-based assessment of biomedical image enhancement procedures

This paper describes a novel method of images enhancement procedures evaluation. A necessity of such method follows from the fact that the results of morphological or statistical image analysis in medical and/or technological applications strongly depend on the effectiveness of image preprocessing. The proposed method is based on standard images called testing sets composed of several basic patterns. Filtered testing sets are compared to basic patterns and the averaged distances between them are used as primary filtering quality scores. Then, they are used to calculation of several secondary parameters called image restoration errors. The image restoration errors make possible separate characterization of filters’ ability to improve image contrast, discrimination of small details or neglect the influence of image parallel shifts on the visibility of image details. Practical application of the proposed method is illustrated by example of comparison of the quality of three exemplary filters: a one based on second-level morphological spectra, Laplace and Sobel, filters. Similar comparison has been performed on the same filters combined with image binary thresholding procedures. At last, the numerical evaluation is compared to visual filters evaluation based on the results of NMR brain image enhancement reached by using different filtering methods.

Sasang Constitution Classification System by Morphological Feature Extraction of Facial Images

This study proposed a Sasang constitution classification system that can increase the objectivity and reliability of Sasang constitution diagnosis using the image of frontal face, in order to solve problems in the subjective classification of Sasang constitution based on Sasang constitution specialists’ experiences. For classification, characteristics indicating the shapes of the eyes, nose, mouth and chin were defined, and such characteristics were extracted using the morphological statistic analysis of face images. Then, Sasang constitution was classified through a SVM (Support Vector Machine) classifier using the extracted characteristics as its input, and according to the results of experiment, the proposed system showed a correct recognition rate of 93.33%. Different from existing systems that designate characteristic points directly, this system showed a high correct recognition rate and therefore it is expected to be useful as a more objective Sasang constitution classification system.

High Spatiotemporal Resolution Dynamic Contrast-Enhanced MR Enterography in Crohn Disease Terminal Ileitis Using Continuous Golden-Angle Radial Sampling, Compressed Sensing, and Parallel Imaging.

The purpose of this article was to assess the feasibility of golden-angle radial acquisition with compress sensing reconstruction (Golden-angle RAdial Sparse Parallel [GRASP]) for acquiring high temporal resolution data for pharmacokinetic modeling while maintaining high image quality in patients with Crohn disease terminal ileitis. Fourteen patients with biopsy-proven Crohn terminal ileitis were scanned using both contrast-enhanced GRASP and Cartesian breath-hold (volume-interpolated breath-hold examination [VIBE]) acquisitions. GRASP data were reconstructed with 2.4-second temporal resolution and fitted to the generalized kinetic model using an individualized arterial input function to derive the volume transfer coefficient (K(trans)) and interstitial volume (v(e)). Reconstructions, including data from the entire GRASP acquisition and Cartesian VIBE acquisitions, were rated for image quality, artifact, and detection of typical Crohn ileitis features. Inflamed loops of ileum had significantly higher K(trans) (3.36 ± 2.49 vs 0.86 ± 0.49 min(-1), p < 0.005) and v(e) (0.53 ± 0.15 vs 0.20 ± 0.11, p < 0.005) compared with normal bowel loops. There were no significant differences between GRASP and Cartesian VIBE for overall image quality (p = 0.180) or detection of Crohn ileitis features, although streak artifact was worse with the GRASP acquisition (p = 0.001). High temporal resolution data for pharmacokinetic modeling and high spatial resolution data for morphologic image analysis can be achieved in the same acquisition using GRASP.

Mitofusin 2 ablation increases endoplasmic reticulum-mitochondria coupling.

The organization and mutual interactions between endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and mitochondria modulate key aspects of cell pathophysiology. Several proteins have been suggested to be involved in keeping ER and mitochondria at a correct distance. Among them, in mammalian cells, mitofusin 2 (Mfn2), located on both the outer mitochondrial membrane and the ER surface, has been proposed to be a physical tether between the two organelles, forming homotypic interactions and heterocomplexes with its homolog Mfn1. Recently, this widely accepted model has been challenged using quantitative EM analysis. Using a multiplicity of morphological, biochemical, functional, and genetic approaches, we demonstrate that Mfn2 ablation increases the structural and functional ER-mitochondria coupling. In particular, we show that in different cell types Mfn2 ablation or silencing increases the close contacts between the two organelles and strengthens the efficacy of inositol trisphosphate (IP3)-induced Ca(2+) transfer from the ER to mitochondria, sensitizing cells to a mitochondrial Ca(2+) overload-dependent death. We also show that the previously reported discrepancy between electron and fluorescence microscopy data on ER-mitochondria proximity in Mfn2-ablated cells is only apparent. By using a different type of morphological analysis of fluorescent images that takes into account (and corrects for) the gross modifications in mitochondrial shape resulting from Mfn2 ablation, we demonstrate that an increased proximity between the organelles is also observed by confocal microscopy when Mfn2 levels are reduced. Based on these results, we propose a new model for ER-mitochondria juxtaposition in which Mfn2 works as a tethering antagonist preventing an excessive, potentially toxic, proximity between the two organelles.

IJARCCE - Computer and Communication Engineering

2 Abstract: The early identification of leukemia form in cancer patients can greatly increase the likelihood of recovery. Diagnostic methods that distinguish among the disease's many forms are either costly or do not exist. Amongst the existing diagnostic methods are immune- phenotype and cytogenetic abnormality, which require time to obtain results and are costly to perform due to their requirement of well equipped laboratories. Thus, there is a need for fast and cost- effective method that results in the identification of the different leukemia forms or types. Therefore, we propose the use of digital image morphological analysis of microscopic images of leukemic blood cells for the identification purpose. We present in this paper the first phase of an automated leukemia form identification system, which is the segmentation of infected cell images. The segmentation process provides two enhanced images for each blood cell; containing the cytoplasm and the nuclei regions. Unique features for each form of leukemia can then be extracted from the two images and used for identification.

Whole slide image with image analysis of atypical bile duct brushing: Quantitative features predictive of malignancy

Background: Whole slide images (WSIs) involve digitally capturing glass slides for microscopic computer-based viewing and these are amenable to quantitative image analysis. Bile duct (BD) brushing can show morphologic features that are categorized as indeterminate for malignancy. The study aims to evaluate quantitative morphologic features of atypical categories of BD brushing by WSI analysis for the identification of criteria predictive of malignancy. Materials and Methods: Over a 3-year period, BD brush specimens with indeterminate diagnostic categorization (atypical to suspicious) were subjected to WSI analysis. Ten well-visualized groups with morphologic atypical features were selected per case and had the quantitative analysis performed for group area, individual nuclear area, the number of nuclei per group, N: C ratio and nuclear size differential. Results: There were 28 cases identified with 17 atypical and 11 suspicious. The average nuclear area was 63.7 μm2 for atypical and 80.1 μm2 for suspicious (+difference 16.4 μm2; P = 0.002). The nuclear size differential was 69.7 μm2 for atypical and 88.4 μm2 for suspicious (+difference 18.8 μm2; P = 0.009). An average nuclear area >70 μm2 had a 3.2 risk ratio for suspicious categorization. Conclusion: The quantitative criteria findings as measured by image analysis on WSI showed that cases categorized as suspicious had more nuclear size pleomorphism (+18.8 μm2) and larger nuclei (+16.4 μm2) than those categorized as atypical. WSI with morphologic image analysis can demonstrate quantitative statistically significant differences between atypical and suspicious BD brushings and provide objective criteria that support the diagnosis of carcinoma.

Biomedical Signal Processing and Modeling Complexity of Living Systems 2014

Biomedical Signal Processing and Modeling Complexity of Living Systems 2014

Characterization of pore structure and strain localization in Majella limestone by X-ray computed tomography and digital image correlation

Standard techniques for computed tomography imaging are not directly applicable to a carbonate rock because of the geometric complexity of its pore space. In this study, we first characterized the pore structure in Majella limestone with 30 per cent porosity. Microtomography data acquired on this rock was partitioned into three distinct domains: macropores, solid grains, and an intermediate domain made up of voxels of solid embedded with micropores below the resolution. A morphological analysis of the microtomography images shows that in Majella limestone both the solid and intermediate domains are interconnected in a manner similar to that reported previously in a less porous limestone. We however show that the macroporosity in Majella limestone is fundamentally different, in that it has a percolative backbone which may contribute significantly to its permeability. We then applied for the first time 3-D-volumetric digital image correlation (DIC) to characterize the mode of mechanical failure in this limestone. Samples were triaxially deformed over a wide range of confining pressures. Tomography imaging was performed on these samples before and after deformation. Inelastic compaction was observed at all tested pressures associated with both brittle and ductile behaviors. Our DIC analysis reveals the structure of compacting shear bands in Majella limestone deformed in the transitional regime. It also indicates an increase of geometric complexity with increasing confinement-from a planar shear band, to a curvilinear band, and ultimately to a diffuse multiplicity of bands, before shear localization is inhibited as the failure mode completes the transition to delocalized cataclastic flow. (Less)

Integral-geometry characterization of photobiomodulation effects on retinal vessel morphology.

The morphological characterization of quasi-planar structures represented by gray-scale images is challenging when object identification is sub-optimal due to registration artifacts. We propose two alternative procedures that enhances object identification in the integral-geometry morphological image analysis (MIA) framework. The first variant streamlines the framework by introducing an active contours segmentation process whose time step is recycled as a multi-scale parameter. In the second variant, we used the refined object identification produced in the first variant to perform the standard MIA with exact dilation radius as multi-scale parameter. Using this enhanced MIA we quantify the extent of vaso-obliteration in oxygen-induced retinopathic vascular growth, the preventative effect (by photobiomodulation) of exposure during tissue development to near-infrared light (NIR, 670 nm), and the lack of adverse effects due to exposure to NIR light.

Identification of cells using morphological information of bright field/fluorescent multi-imaging flow cytometer images

We have examined the ability of real-time simultaneous measurement of bright field/fluorescent images of cells in an on-chip bright field/fluorescent multi-imaging flow cytometer system. The system consists of (1) a disposable microfluidic hydrofocusing flow cytometry chip, (2) an optical microscopy module with splittable bright field/fluorescent multi-imaging optics, and (3) a real-time image-processing module with a 200 images/s high-speed digital camera. In the double “Y” shape three-way-inlet microfluidic pathways fabricated in the poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) microchip, we applied fluorescent polystyrene standard beads and HeLa cells stained with fluorescent dye, Hoechst 33258, and measured the z-axis (depth) dependence of the morphological index; the intensity profile of cells and nuclei. Then, we measured the tendency of the blur of bright field/fluorescent images in the simultaneous measurement of bright field/fluorescent images on a single light-receiving surface, and found that their blurs were similar within the same range of the depth of the microfluidic pathway for small cell cluster measurement, 25 µm. Hence, the fluorescent images were applied as supporting information of the bright field images of cell clusters at the focal plane for the cell number counting. The result indicates the potential of precise identification of various types of cells by simultaneous morphological analysis of bright field and fluorescent images distributed with a single camera in a wider depth of microfluidic chip as a substitute for conventional biomarker detection.

Phenotypic Profiling of Raf Inhibitors and Mitochondrial Toxicity in 3D Tissue Using Biodynamic Imaging

The existence of phenotypic differences in the drug responses of 3D tissue relative to 2D cell culture is a concern in high-content drug screening. Biodynamic imaging is an emerging technology that probes 3D tissue using short-coherence dynamic light scattering to measure the intracellular motions inside tissues in their natural microenvironments. The information content of biodynamic imaging is displayed through tissue dynamics spectroscopy (TDS) but has not previously been correlated against morphological image analysis of 2D cell culture. In this article, a set of mitochondria-affecting compounds (FCCP, valinomycin, nicardipine, ionomycin) and Raf kinase inhibitors (PLX4032, PLX4720, GDC, and sorafenib) are applied to multicellular tumor spheroids from two colon adenocarcinoma cell lines (HT-29 and DLD-1). These were screened by TDS and then compared against conventional image-based high-content analysis (HCA). The responses to the Raf inhibitors PLX4032 and PLX4720 are grouped separately by cell line, reflecting the Braf/Kras difference in these cell lines. There is a correlation between TDS and HCA phenotypic clustering for most cases, which demonstrates the ability of dynamic measurements to capture phenotypic responses to drugs. However, there are significant 2D versus 3D phenotypic differences exhibited by several of the drugs/cell lines.

Comparison of Spectral and Image Morphological Analysis for Egg Early Hatching Property Detection Based on Hyperspectral Imaging

The use of non-destructive methods to detect egg hatching properties could increase efficiency in commercial hatcheries by saving space, reducing costs, and ensuring hatching quality. For this purpose, a hyperspectral imaging system was built to detect embryo development and vitality using spectral and morphological information of hatching eggs. A total of 150 green shell eggs were used, and hyperspectral images were collected for every egg on day 0, 1, 2, 3 and 4 of incubation. After imaging, two analysis methods were developed to extract egg hatching characteristic. Firstly, hyperspectral images of samples were evaluated using Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and only one optimal band with 822 nm was selected for extracting spectral characteristics of hatching egg. Secondly, an image segmentation algorithm was applied to isolate the image morphologic characteristics of hatching egg. To investigate the applicability of spectral and image morphological analysis for detecting egg early hatching properties, Learning Vector Quantization neural network (LVQNN) was employed. The experimental results demonstrated that model using image morphological characteristics could achieve better accuracy and generalization than using spectral characteristic parameters, and the discrimination accuracy for eggs with embryo development were 97% at day 3, 100% at day 4. In addition, the recognition results for eggs with weak embryo development reached 81% at day 3, and 92% at day 4. This study suggested that image morphological analysis was a novel application of hyperspectral imaging technology to detect egg early hatching properties.

Assessment of water and air permeability of chernozem supported by image analysis

We aimed at the assessment of water and air permeability of a Haplic Chernozem developed from loess. The laboratory permeability measurements were presented against a number of morphometric indices that characterize the pore system in this soil, and were obtained by computer-aided image analysis on the basis of large resin-impregnated soil opaque blocks. Two indices of soil pore connectivity are proposed, i.e. the index of soil pore network growth rate and the percolation number. Basic soil properties were evaluated (soil texture, TOC, carbonates, pH, particle and soil bulk density, total porosity). The saturated hydraulic conductivity, and soil water content, air capacity and permeability at −15.54kPa and −9.81kPa were measured. From the samples with preserved structure, resin-impregnated soil opaque blocks 8cm×9cm in size were prepared and then used for morphological and morphometric structure analysis. The preliminary image analysis was made to find the best representation of the actual chernozem pore system. The images were modified by applying the morphological closing with or without the spike noise, which modelled tiny pores missed during scanning. Consequently, the macroporosity of the images approximated the air capacity at potentials −15.54 and −9.81kPa. During the extended image analysis, we calculated: the index of soil pore network growth rate; the percolation number; the average cross-sectional size of the pore; the total length of pore path; the relative volume of pores overlapping the left and right, and the top and bottom image edge; the relative volume of pores connecting the left and right and the top and bottom edge of the image. The correlation coefficients between the parameters’ values obtained from image analysis and from laboratory permeability measurements were calculated.The water and air permeability and the air capacity of the chernozem decreased with depth into the soil pedon. With decrease in the saturated hydraulic conductivity, measured in the laboratory, there was a decrease in the relative volumes of pores overlapping the left and right and upper and lower edges of the image, obtained from image analysis. The air permeability was positively correlated with the index of pore network growth rate. Morphological and morphometric image analysis confirmed that the most important parameters determining the transport of fluids in the soil are continuity of the pore system and pore volume. Based on the results obtained from image analysis one can formulate qualitative conclusions concerning the water and air permeability of soil.

A High Performance Biometric System Based on Image Morphological Analysis

At present, many of the algorithms used and proposed for digital imaging biometric systems are based on mathematical complex models, and this fact is directly related to the performance of any computer implementation of these algorithms. On the other hand, as they are conceived for general purpose digital imaging, these algorithms do not take advantage of any common morphological features from its given domains. In this paper we developed a novel algorithm for the segmentation of the pupil and iris in human eye images, whose improvement’s hope lies in the use of morphological features of the images of the human eye. Based on the basic structure of a standard biometric system we developed and implemented an innovation for each phase of the system, avoiding the use of mathematical complex models and exploiting some common features in any digital image of the human eye from the dataset that we used. Finally, we compared the testing results against other known state of the art works developed over the same dataset.

Stearoyl-CoA desaturase-1 is a key factor for lung cancer-initiating cells

In recent years, studies of cancer development and recurrence have been influenced by the cancer stem cells (CSCs)/cancer-initiating cells (CICs) hypothesis. According to this, cancer is sustained by highly positioned, chemoresistant cells with extensive capacity of self renewal, which are responsible for disease relapse after chemotherapy. Growth of cancer cells as three-dimensional non-adherent spheroids is regarded as a useful methodology to enrich for cells endowed with CSC-like features. We have recently reported that cell cultures derived from malignant pleural effusions (MPEs) of patients affected by adenocarcinoma of the lung are able to efficiently form spheroids in non-adherent conditions supplemented with growth factors. By expression profiling, we were able to identify a set of genes whose expression is significantly upregulated in lung tumor spheroids versus adherent cultures. One of the most strongly upregulated gene was stearoyl-CoA desaturase (SCD1), the main enzyme responsible for the conversion of saturated into monounsaturated fatty acids. In the present study, we show both by RNA interference and through the use of a small molecule inhibitor that SCD1 is required for lung cancer spheroids propagation both in stable cell lines and in MPE-derived primary tumor cultures. Morphological examination and image analysis of the tumor spheroids formed in the presence of SCD1 inhibitors showed a different pattern of growth characterized by irregular cell aggregates. Electron microscopy revealed that the treated spheroids displayed several features of cellular damage and immunofluorescence analysis on optical serial sections showed apoptotic cells positive for the M30 marker, most of them positive also for the stemness marker ALDH1A1, thus suggesting that the SCD1 inhibitor is selectively killing cells with stem-like properties. Furthermore, SCD1-inhibited lung cancer cells were strongly impaired in their in vivo tumorigenicity and ALDH1A1 expression. These results suggest that SCD1 is a critical target in lung cancer tumor-initiating cells.