Region-based Segmentation Using a Simulated Charged Fluid

摘要

A computer simulation of a Charged Fluid was developed to segment objects in medical images. A Charged Fluid conceptually consists of charged particles, each of which exerts a repelling electric force upon the others. In our approach, we treat the image gradients as potential wells where a simulated Charged Fluid flows through. The evolution of a Charged Fluid consists of two different procedures. One allows Charged Fluid elements to advance toward new positions in the simulation along the direction of their total effective forces. The other allows Charged Fluid elements to flow along the contour until an electrostatic equilibrium is achieved. The procedure is repeated until all Charged Fluid elements reside on the boundaries of objects being segmented. Preliminary segmentation results were obtained using this new technique to segment irregular objects in medical images.