http://library.utia.cas.cz/prace/20030125.pdf

Image registration methods: a survey

Humans perceive the three-dimensional structure of the world with apparent ease. However, despite all of the recent advances in computer vision research, the dream of having a computer interpret an image at the same level as a two-year old remains elusive. Why is computer vision such a challenging problem and what is the current state of the art? Computer Vision: Algorithms and Applications explores the variety of techniques commonly used to analyze and interpret images. It also describes challenging real-world applications where vision is being successfully used, both for specialized applications such as medical imaging, and for fun, consumer-level tasks such as image editing and stitching, which students can apply to their own personal photos and videos. More than just a source of recipes, this exceptionally authoritative and comprehensive textbook/reference also takes a scientific approach to basic vision problems, formulating physical models of the imaging process before inverting them to produce descriptions of a scene. These problems are also analyzed using statistical models and solved using rigorous engineering techniques Topics and features: structured to support active curricula and project-oriented courses, with tips in the Introduction for using the book in a variety of customized courses; presents exercises at the end of each chapter with a heavy emphasis on testing algorithms and containing numerous suggestions for small mid-term projects; provides additional material and more detailed mathematical topics in the Appendices, which cover linear algebra, numerical techniques, and Bayesian estimation theory; suggests additional reading at the end of each chapter, including the latest research in each sub-field, in addition to a full Bibliography at the end of the book; supplies supplementary course material for students at the associated website, http://szeliski.org/Book/. Suitable for an upper-level undergraduate or graduate-level course in computer science or engineering, this textbook focuses on basic techniques that work under real-world conditions and encourages students to push their creative boundaries. Its design and exposition also make it eminently suitable as a unique reference to the fundamental techniques and current research literature in computer vision.

/pdf/computer-vision-algorithms-and-applications-25dn6wu83j.pdf

Computer Vision: Algorithms and Applications

We describe methods for simultaneously acquiring and subsequently combining data from a multitude of closely positioned NMR receiving coils. The approach is conceptually similar to phased array radar and ultrasound and hence we call our techniques the “NMR phased array.” The NMR phased array offers the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and resolution of a small surface coil over fields-of-view (FOV) normally associated with body imaging with no increase in imaging time. The NMR phased array can be applied to both imaging and spectroscopy for all pulse sequences. The problematic interactions among nearby surface coils is eliminated (a) by overlapping adjacent coils to give zero mutual inductance, hence zero interaction, and (b) by attaching low input impedance preamplifiers to all coils, thus eliminating interference among next nearest and more distant neighbors. We derive an algorithm for combining the data from the phased array elements to yield an image with optimum SNR. Other techniques which are easier to implement at the cost of lower SNR are explored. Phased array imaging is demonstrated with high resolution (512 × 512, 48-cm FOV, and 32-cm FOV) spin-echo images of the thoracic and lumbar spine. Data were acquired from four-element linear spine arrays, the first made of 12-cm square coils and the second made of 8-cm square coils. When compared with images from a single 15 × 30-cm rectangular coil and identical imaging parameters, the phased array yields a 2X and 3X higher SNR at the depth of the spine ( ∼ 7 cm). © 1990 Academic Press, Inc.

The NMR phased array.

Radiological images are increasingly being used in healthcare and medical research. There is, consequently, widespread interest in accurately relating information in the different images for diagnosis, treatment and basic science. This article reviews registration techniques used to solve this problem, and describes the wide variety of applications to which these techniques are applied. Applications of image registration include combining images of the same subject from different modalities, aligning temporal sequences of images to compensate for motion of the subject between scans, image guidance during interventions and aligning images from multiple subjects in cohort studies. Current registration algorithms can, in many cases, automatically register images that are related by a rigid body transformation (i.e. where tissue deformation can be ignored). There has also been substantial progress in non-rigid registration algorithms that can compensate for tissue deformation, or align images from different subjects. Nevertheless many registration problems remain unsolved, and this is likely to continue to be an active field of research in the future.

/pdf/medical-image-registration-2w70gjytcx.pdf

Medical image registration

The article provides arguments in favor of an alternative approach that uses splines, which is equally justifiable on a theoretical basis, and which offers many practical advantages. To reassure the reader who may be afraid to enter new territory, it is emphasized that one is not losing anything because the traditional theory is retained as a particular case (i.e., a spline of infinite degree). The basic computational tools are also familiar to a signal processing audience (filters and recursive algorithms), even though their use in the present context is less conventional. The article also brings out the connection with the multiresolution theory of the wavelet transform. This article attempts to fulfil three goals. The first is to provide a tutorial on splines that is geared to a signal processing audience. The second is to gather all their important properties and provide an overview of the mathematical and computational tools available; i.e., a road map for the practitioner with references to the appropriate literature. The third goal is to give a review of the primary applications of splines in signal and image processing.

/pdf/splines-a-perfect-fit-for-signal-and-image-processing-50x3vrh3wj.pdf

Splines: a perfect fit for signal and image processing

When resampling an image to a new set of coordinates (for example, when rotating an image), there is often a noticeable loss in image quality. To preserve image quality, the interpolating function used for the resampling should be an ideal low-pass filter. To determine which limited extent convolving functions would provide the best interpolation, five functions were compared: A) nearest neighbor, B) linear, C) cubic B-spline, D) high-resolution cubic spline with edge enhancement (a = -1), and E) high-resolution cubic spline (a = -0.5). The functions which extend over four picture elements (C, D, E) were shown to have a better frequency response than those which extend over one (A) or two (B) pixels. The nearest neighbor function shifted the image up to one-half a pixel. Linear and cubic B-spline interpolation tended to smooth the image. The best response was obtained with the high-resolution cubic spline functions. The location of the resampled points with respect to the initial coordinate system has a dramatic effect on the response of the sampled interpolating function?the data are exactly reproduced when the points are aligned, and the response has the most smoothing when the resampled points are equidistant from the original coordinate points. Thus, at the expense of some increase in computing time, image quality can be improved by resampled using the high-resolution cubic spline function as compared to the nearest neighbor, linear, or cubic B-spline functions.

J. Anthony Parker

Papers

Comparison of Interpolating Methods for Image Resampling