A Level Set Model Driven by New Signed Pressure Force Function for Image Segmentation

An image segmentation model using histogram-based image fitting (HF) energy is proposed to identify objects with poorly defined boundaries. The proposed energy model considers an improved fitting energy function based on normalized histogram and average intensities of objects inside as well as outside the contour curve. The fitting energy functions are computed before the curve evolution thereby reducing the complexity of intensity inhomogeneity images. Further, a new signed pressure force function is incorporated in the proposed energy model which can increase the efficiency of the curve evolution process at blur edges or at weak edge regions. The comparative analysis of the proposed energy model produces better segmentation results compared to the other state-of-the-art energy models namely the Li et. al. model, local binary fitting (LBF), and Chen-Vese (C-V) models. The proposed model is also robust to intensity inhomogeneity. In addition, the calculation of the Jaccard Index (JI) proves the robustness of the proposed energy model.