A DISCRETE DYNAMIC CONTOUR MODEL

A discrete dynamic model for defining contours in 2-D images is develo ped, The structure of this model is a set of connected vertices, With a minimum of interaction, an initial contour model can be defined, whi ch is then automatically modified by an energy minimizing process, The internal energy of the model depends on local contour curvature, whil e the external energy is derived from image features, Solutions are pr esented to avoid undesirable deformation effects, like shrinking and v ertex clustering, which are common in existing active contour models, The deformation process stops when a local minimum of the energy funct ion is reached, The final shape of the model is a reproducible approxi mation of the desired contour, Results of applying the method to compu ter-generated images, as well as clinical images, are presented,