Skip to main content
Log in

New Variational Formulations for Level Set Evolution Without Reinitialization with Applications to Image Segmentation

  • Published:
Journal of Mathematical Imaging and Vision Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Interface evolution problems are often solved elegantly by the level set method, which generally requires the time-consuming reinitialization process. In order to avoid reinitialization, we reformulate the variational model as a constrained optimization problem. Then we present an augmented Lagrangian method and a projection Lagrangian method to solve the constrained model and propose two gradient-type algorithms. For the augmented Lagrangian method, we employ the Uzawa scheme to update the Lagrange multiplier. For the projection Lagrangian method, we use the variable splitting technique and get an explicit expression for the Lagrange multiplier. We apply the two approaches to the Chan-Vese model and obtain two efficient alternating iterative algorithms based on the semi-implicit additive operator splitting scheme. Numerical results on various synthetic and real images are provided to compare our methods with two others, which demonstrate effectiveness and efficiency of our algorithms.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Osher, S., Sethian, J.A.: Fronts propagation with curvature dependent speed: algorithms based on Hamilton-Jacobi formulations. J. Comput. Phys. 79, 12–49 (1988)

    Article  MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  2. Sethian, J.A., Wiegmann, A.: Structural boundary design via level set and immersed interface methods. J. Comput. Phys. 163, 489–528 (2000)

    Article  MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  3. Osher, S., Santosa, F.: Level set methods for optimization problems involving geometry and constraints I. frequencies of a two-density inhomogeneous drum. J. Comput. Phys. 171, 272–288 (2001)

    Article  MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  4. Sussman, M., Smereka, P., Osher, S.: A level set approach for computing solutions to incompressible two phase flow. J. Comput. Phys. 114, 146–159 (1994)

    Article  MATH  Google Scholar 

  5. Santosa, F.: A level-set approach for inverse problems involving obstacles. ESAIM Control Optim. Calc. Var. 1, 17–33 (1996)

    Article  MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  6. Chan, T.F., Tai, X.-C.: Level set and total variation regularization for elliptic inverse problems with discontinuous coefficients. J. Comput. Phys. 193, 40–66 (2003)

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  7. Fedkiw, R.P., Sapiro, G., Shu, C.-W.: Shock capturing, level sets, and PDE based methods in computer vision and image processing: a review of Osher’s contributions. J. Comput. Phys. 185, 309–341 (2003)

    Article  MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  8. Osher, S., Paragios, N.: Geometric Level Set Methods in Imaging, Vision and Graphics. Springer, Berlin (2003)

    MATH  Google Scholar 

  9. Sethian, J.A.: Level Set Methods and Fast Marching Methods. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge (1999)

    MATH  Google Scholar 

  10. Osher, S., Fedkiw, R.: Level Set Methods and Dynamic Implicit Surfaces. Springer, Berlin (2003)

    MATH  Google Scholar 

  11. Tai, X.-C., Chan, T.F.: A survey on multiple level set methods with applications for identifying piecewise constant functions. Int. J. Numer. Anal. Mod. 1, 25–48 (2004)

    MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  12. Gomes, J., Faugeras, O.: Reconciling distance functions and level sets. J. Vis. Commun. Image Represent. 11, 209–223 (2000)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Lie, J., Lysaker, M., Tai, X.-C.: A binary level set model and some applications to Mumford-Shah image segmentation. IEEE Trans. Image Process. 15, 1171–1181 (2006)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Li, C., Xu, C., Gui, C., Fox, M.D.: Level set evolution without reinitialization: a new variational formulation. In: IEEE Computer Society Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition (CVPR), vol. 1, pp. 430–436 (2005)

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  15. Chan, T.F., Vese, L.A.: Active contours without edges. IEEE Trans. Image Process. 10, 266–277 (2001)

    Article  MATH  Google Scholar 

  16. Sethian, J.A.: A fast marching level set method for monotonically advancing fronts. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 93, 1591–1595 (1996)

    Article  MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  17. Sethian, J.A.: Fast marching methods. SIAM Rev. 41, 199–235 (1999)

    Article  MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  18. Tsai, Y.-H.R., Cheng, L.-T., Osher, S., Zhao, H.-K.: Fast sweeping algorithms for a class of Hamilton-Jacobi equations. SIAM J. Numer. Anal. 41, 673–694 (2003)

    Article  MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  19. Adalsteinsson, D., Sethian, J.A.: The fast construction of extension velocities in level set methods. J. Comput. Phys. 148, 2–22 (1999)

    Article  MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  20. Peng, D., Merriman, B., Osher, S., Zhao, H., Kang, M.: A PDE-based fast local level set method. J. Comput. Phys. 155, 410–438 (1999)

    Article  MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  21. Lie, J., Lysaker, M., Tai, X.-C.: A variant of the level set method and applications to image segmentation. Math. Comput. 75, 1155–1174 (2006)

    Article  MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  22. Zhu, S., Wu, Q., Liu, C.: Variational piecewise constant level set methods for shape optimization of a two-density drum. J. Comput. Phys. 229, 5062–5089 (2010)

    Article  MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  23. Zhu, S., Liu, C., Wu, Q.: Binary level set methods for topology and shape optimization of a two-density inhomogeneous drum. Comput. Methods Appl. Mech. Eng. 199, 2970–2986 (2010)

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  24. Nocedal, J., Wright, S.J.: Numerical Optimization. Springer, New York (1999)

    Book  MATH  Google Scholar 

  25. Goldstein, T., Osher, S.: The split Bregman method for L1-regularized problems. SIAM J. Imaging Sci. 2, 323–343 (2009)

    Article  MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  26. Huang, Y., Ng, M., Wen, Y.: A new total variation method for multiplicative noise removal. SIAM J. Imaging Sci. 2, 20–40 (2009)

    Article  MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  27. Bioucas-Dias, J.M., Figueiredo, M.A.T.: Multiplicative noise removal using variable aplitting and constrained optimization. IEEE Trans. Image Process. 19, 1720–1730 (2010)

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  28. Chan, T.F., Sandberg, B.Y., Vese, L.A.: Active contours without edges for vector-valued images. J. Vis. Commun. Image Represent. 11, 130–141 (2000)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Vese, L.A., Chan, T.F.: A multiphase level set framework for image segmentation using the Mumford and Shah model. Int. J. Comput. Vis. 50, 271–293 (2002)

    Article  MATH  Google Scholar 

  30. Sussman, M., Fatemi, E.: An efficient, interface preserving level set redistancing algorithm and its application to interfacial incompressible fluid flow. SIAM J. Sci. Comput. 20, 1165–1191 (1999)

    Article  MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  31. Zhao, H.K., Chan, T.F., Merriman, B., Osher, S.: A variational level set approach to multiphase motion. J. Comput. Phys. 127, 179–195 (1996)

    Article  MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  32. Tai, X.-C., Wu, C.: Augmented Lagrangian method, dual methods and split Bregman iteration for ROF model. UCLA CAM Report 09-05 (2009)

  33. Mumford, D., Shah, J.: Optimal approximations by piecewise smooth functions and associated variational problems. Commun. Pure Appl. Math. 42, 577–685 (1989)

    Article  MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  34. Lu, T., Neittaanmäki, P., Tai, X.-C.: A parallel splitting up method and its application to Navier-Stokes equations. Appl. Math. Lett. 4, 25–29 (1991)

    Article  MATH  Google Scholar 

  35. Weickert, J., Romeny, B.M., Viergever, M.A.: Efficient and reliable schemes for nonlinear diffusion filtering. IEEE Trans. Image Process. 7, 398–410 (1998)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  36. Wang, X., Huang, D., Xu, H.: An efficient local Chan-Vese model for image segmentation. Pattern Recognit. 43, 603–618 (2010)

    Article  MATH  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Chunxiao Liu.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Liu, C., Dong, F., Zhu, S. et al. New Variational Formulations for Level Set Evolution Without Reinitialization with Applications to Image Segmentation. J Math Imaging Vis 41, 194–209 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10851-011-0269-z

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10851-011-0269-z

Keywords

Navigation