Automatic summarization of changes in image sequences using algorithmic information theory

An algorithmic information theoretic method is presented for object-level summarization of meaningful changes in image sequences. Object extraction and tracking data are represented as an attributed tracking graph (ATG), whose connected subgraphs are compared using an adaptive information distance measure, aided by a closed-form multi-dimensional quantization. The summary is the clustering result and feature subset that maximize the gap statistic. The notion of meaningful summarization is captured by using the gap statistic to estimate the randomness deficiency from algorithmic statistics. When applied to movies of cultured neural progenitor cells, it correctly distinguished neurons from progenitors without requiring the use of a fixative stain. When analyzing intra-cellular molecular transport in cultured neurons undergoing axon specification, it automatically confirmed the role of kinesins in axon specification. Finally, it was able to differentiate wild type from genetically modified thymocyte cells.