Loop snakes: the generalized model

The topologically adaptable snake model, or simply T-snakes, is a useful tool for automatically identifying multiple segments in an image. According to A. Oliveira et al. (2004), a novel approach for controlling the topology of a T-snake was introduced. That approach focuses on the loops formed by the projected curve which is obtained at every stage of the snake evolution. The idea is to make that curve the image of a piecewise linear mapping of an adequate class. Then, with the help of an additional structure, the loop-tree, it is possible to decide in 0(1) time whether the region delimited by each loop has already been explored by the snake. In the original proposal of the loop snakes model, the snake evolution is limited to contraction and there is only one T-snake that contracts and splits during evolution. In this paper we generalize the original model by allowing the contraction as well as the expansion of several T-snakes.